External and Internal Factors Affecting Consumer's Choices - Assignment Example

Heading: Purchase and consumption two-week diary Table of Contents Introduction 2 Situational influences 2 Consumption perspectives 5 Perspectives on consumer decision-making 5 Rational Perspective 5 Experiential perspectives 6 Behavioral perspective 6 Value 7 Hedonic and utilitarian perspectives 7 Satisfaction 8 Relationship quality 9 Perceptions, learning, and memory 9 Motivation and feelings 10 Personality, lifestyle, and self-concept 10 References 11 Introduction This paper intends to reflect on my two-week consumption choice diary, as from August 6- 19th, 2012. Consumer behavior is normally misunderstood as just essential to the bigger and sophisticated organizations. Consumer behavior may teach firms of every size about the patterns of consumption of their customers, and external and internal factors affecting their choices. This paper intends to explore some of the factors with reference to situational factors, value perspectives, consumption perspectives, relationship quality, satisfaction, perception, learning, and memory, motivation and aroused feelings, personality and the self-concept. It also intends to use various tables to discuss the aforementioned factors. Situational influences Situational influences on buying decisions include temporal perspectives, social, physical environment, antecedent situations, and task definition. These perspectives may have an effect on consumer’s decision, as well as value experienced by a consumer; hence, they are neither features of a specific consumer nor the brand, or product involved. In situational influences of consumer behavior, conditions and time have been recognized as variables influencing consumer behavior, just like in my case. Moreover, time perspective through changing the manner of processing information determines consumer’s behavior. According to my consumption choices, the time of the day and year have played a big role. Seasonality or time of the year entails the frequently happening conditions, which differ with time of the year. In relation to my diary of consumption choice, I bought leather boots because of the approaching winter season. This purchase decision was crucial, as the boots would keep me warm from cold, and facilitate my easy movement around campus, in town, and at home. In relation to time of the day factor, most of the consumers in the society attend schools or go to their workplaces almost every week. As a result, breakfast, lunch, as well as dinner becomes necessary to facilitate their day-to-date activities by giving them energy, satisfaction, and strong health. Additionally, majority of the consumers also prefer going to the gym in the morning, as they are conscious about their health. In my case, I prefer going to the gym every morning at 6 to 7 o’clock, because I find it as the best way of starting a day. Exercising in the gym makes me active throughout the day, as well as enhancing my strong health, which in turn improves my positive progress in my studies and other responsibilities. Regarding breakfast, I enjoy breakfast between 7-8am, which consists of coffee, an apple, an egg, and a toast. I preferred this kind of breakfast, since it is well-balanced meal, and sustains me in campus until lunch. Moreover, I have coffee every morning because I am a coffee addict. I also prefer driving myself to school every morning, as it is more convenient as compared to a public means of transport. In terms of shopping, I find it convenient to do it in the evening after school, as it takes a lot of time. Even though I enjoy cooking, I prefer doing it in the evening, when I have finished other activities. I watch my movies in the afternoon or evening after school, and hang out with friends during my free time. This is crucial in enhancing my time management skills, as well as efficiency. Another situational influence entails condition, which involves situational features that consumers bring to a specific information processing. Some of the conditions that influenced by purchases and consumption include price, convenience, habit, and quality among others. For instance, I consume coffee every morning, and sometimes in the evening because I am an addict. I prefer my breakfast meal because it is rich in all the essential nutrients. Additionally, I enjoy shopping online, as because of convenience, quality, and affordability (Østergaard, Hellmann, & Schrage 2010). With reference to my consumption choice diary, I purchased a pair of shoes, Apple laptop, Samsung Galaxy Pocket, packet of fruit juice, a bottle of wine, sandals, textbook, and paid rent. This is For instance, I bought an Apple’s laptop because I wanted to use in my academic studies in the university, especially in doing assignments. It would be impossible for me to do my studies, and assignments in campus without a personal laptop because most of the assignments are done and submitted online. It was an obligation to buy textbook in one of the bookshops in town because it was important for my studies, as the campus library had a few copies, and students in need of it are many. Secondly, I prefer keeping my on library, as I find it convenient as compared to the campus one. Rent is another situational influence consumption choice that ought to be made. This is because rent is essential in order to live in a house, else the property owner would evict. Another conditional situational influence is car fuel, which needs to be bought almost every week. This is a condition because a car cannot operate without adequate fuel. I use my car to school, to town, and visiting my friends; hence, the need to fuel it every time, despite high prices of fuel. Other consumption choices include such things including stuff like food and clothing. These are some of the basic things for human health and survival. For instance, food is essential in maintaining human survival and health, while clothes are critical in keeping one warm, and maintaining their confidence. Gym gear is important for effective exercising, as well as protecting one from any injuries in the gym. Similarly, without swimsuit, one cannot enjoy swimming, and might not be allowed to swim. Consumption perspectives Rational perspective Experiential perspective Behavioral perspective Fuel Coffee Leather boots Rent Sandals Leather jacket Clothes Cell phone Nokia E71 Apple laptop Textbook A bottle Wine Gym gear Food Samsung Galaxy Pocket Swim suit Perspectives on consumer decision-making Rational Perspective According to rational Babin and Harris (2009), rational perspective presumes that consumers productively collect information regarding purchases, carefully liken several product brands on noticeable features, and make informed decisions about the kind of brand to buy. This implies that consumers are rational beings that make decisions carefully, and consider the value of each item they want to purchase. Regarding my consumption choice diary, rent, car fuel, food, and clothing are usual consumptions, which are bought irrationally. For instance, when I was selecting a place to rent a house, I decided to rent a house close to college because of convenience, and affordability. In terms of fuel, I prefer buying it from a nearby gas station due to convenience and cheap prices. On the other hand, my decision to buy juice, wine, sandals, and leather boots was influenced by the cheap prices, as well as quality. Place is another situational factor that influences my consumption choices. I prefer to take my breakfast at home to save time wasted looking for it outside. In terms of gym, I like attending the one at the neighborhood in order to save on time and costs. I always take my lunch and snacks at the campus café because driving to town takes a lot of time. Regarding my shopping, I enjoy doing it in town because of variety. In terms of phone and laptop, I opted for Apple’s online shop because of the quality, affordability, reliability, and convenience, as compared to walking to a traditional shop. Likewise, I found Amazon suitable place to buy my book and clothes, because of convenience, affordability, reliability, and quality. Hanging out with friends always happen in town, or within campus, because that is where I find them. I prefer watching movies at home because of the relaxed environment. Experiential perspectives According to Babin and Harris (2009), experiential perspective presume that customers always make purchase decisions based on feelings, or effect of the behavior or product that is being considered. Here, a consumer goes for what gives him or her entertainment, pleasure, or good experience. This always emphasizes on hedonic value. With regard to my consumption choice diary, I purchased a pair of leather boots, sandals, a bottle of wine, and a packet of juice based on my feelings on the aforementioned products. For me, my consumption of movies, walking and hanging out with friends makes me feel good. For instance, my choice to have lunch most in campus cafeteria is determined by my experiential perspective of convenience and affordability. The decision to buy a laptop from Apple’s and Samsung Galaxy Pocket was influenced by a friend who recommended it, and that I needed to have a good experience with the electronic devices. Behavioral perspective Behavioral perspective influences consumer’s decision making regarding certain consumption choices. These perspectives are conditioned reactions to environmental influences. This involves activities that are learned by a consumer with time, for instance, my taking coffee every day is influenced by addiction. This is instrumental in the clarification of the way consumers react to the store design layout, and displays. In my case, I bought Apple laptop, Samsung Galaxy Pocket, a pair of leather boots, a bottle of wine, swimsuit, and gym gear, behavioral perspective of decision-making influenced my decision. Additionally, my decision to purchase these products was influenced by the friendly store attendants, prompt services, appealing packaging, and attractive outline of the products in the stores. Value Babin and Harris (2009) say that value involves personal judgment f the total worth achieved from a service or product. This implies what customers eventually look for, as valued action handle drives that are manifested in form of desires and needs. In this case, my choice for laptop is motivated by status, efficiency, uniqueness, and reliability, while gym is determined by relaxation, activeness, fun, and comfort. Watching movies is determined by values like relaxation, rest, and happiness. My breakfast and lunch combination is influenced by need for good health, while driving to school is influenced by efficiency, convenience, and punctuality. Hedonic and utilitarian perspectives Hedonic Utilitarian Movies, taking a walk, drinks with friends, hanging out with friends Food (breakfast, lunch, dinner), laptop, driving to school, coffee, rent, fuel, Samsung Galaxy Pocket Hedonic values are those influenced by experiential perspectives like fun, entertainment, comfort, relaxation, and pleasure (Khan & Dhar 2004). In this case, I chose movies, drinks with friends, time spent with friends. On contrast, utilitarian values entail necessities instead of luxuries, and they include food, laptop, phone, a drive to school, and coffee (Kharea 2011). In relation to my consumption choice diary, I bought the gym gear to protect my body from machines in the gym like weights. Likewise, the decision to buy swimsuit is to make my swimming easy and protect my hair, ears, and eyes from water. Regarding the leather boots, I bought them to keep me warm during winter, as well as facilitate easy movement around and outside school. In terms of utilitarian values, I made decisions including buying car fuel, paying rent, buying food, and clothing. I chose a house next to the university due to its affordability and convenience. I also chose to fuel my car in a nearest fuel station to enhance cheap prices and convenience. Some products fall under both utilitarian and hedonic values, which include Samsung Galaxy Pocket, and Apple laptop. These influence consumption purchases based on quality, performance, reliability, and low prices. Satisfaction This entails a mild, constructive emotional condition that comes from a positive judgment of consumption result (Babin and Harris 2009). Regarding my purchase or consumption choices, I made decisions based on the intended satisfaction of my needs and desires. This means that the consumption and purchase decisions I made were based on affordability, quality, reliability, convenience, durability, and customer care, among others. In addition, expectancy theory also greatly influenced my consumption choices. According to the theory, consumers utilize expectations as a standard against with which to judge their performance perception. It further says that consumers get into a consumption experience with prearranged cognitive expectations of a product or service’s performance. For example, my decision to buy Samsung Galaxy Pocket and apple laptop was influenced by high expectations that have been actually met. Relationship quality This entails the extent of association existing between a retailer and consumer (Babin and Harris 2009). With respect to my consumption diary, I made purchase and consumption decisions based on the relationship quality between retailers and me. I ensured that I build a quality link in every place I made my purchases and consumptions. Besides, the development of the quality relationship was influenced by good communication, equity, trust, competence, customer service, and personalization. For example, I got a 20% discount in my leather boots, and 10% discount for my Samsung Galaxy Pocket. Perceptions, learning, and memory In two-week consumption choice diary, I purchased Apple’s Laptop, Samsung Galaxy Pocket, swimsuit, gym gear, leather boots, and sandals among others based on perception, learning, and memory. Firstly, in terms of perception, I bought wine because of the attractive package, likewise to the shoes, clothes, and electronic devices. In terms of learning, I consume my almost the same breakfast every day because of learning. For instance, taking coffee has become a habit because of learning (Gordon & Sun 2009). Memory, on the other hand, influenced my choice for the bookshop from which I bought a certain book (Gordon & Sun 2009). I opted for the shop because I remembered that a friend once recommended it to me. Additionally, the Apple’s laptop, and Samsung Galaxy pocket phone were appropriate because I had seen them in the online advertisements. Motivation and feelings In consumer behavior, motivation entails a drive to consume or purchase something in order to meet certain needs (Hoyer 2010). For instance, in this case, my choice for breakfast and other meals was motivated by the need for satisfaction, health, and fulfillment. Gym was motivated by the need to keep fit and healthy, while driving to school was influenced by the need to arrive early and conveniently. Besides, hanging out with friends was motivated by the need for love, belongingness, and togetherness, while watching movies was influenced by the need to relax and unwind (Perner 2010). Personality, lifestyle, and self-concept Affected Unaffected Personality movies, friends Food, driving to school, gym, attending lectures Lifestyle Movies, laptop and phone, food, gym, friends Attending lectures, cooking dinner, swimsuit Self-concept Driving to school, visiting friends, Food, rent, fuel, leather boots, and gym My choice for movies and hanging out with friends was determined by personality, while movies, gym, hanging out with friends, food, phone, and laptop were determined by lifestyle factor. On the other hand, my self-concept affected by choice to drive to school, as well as to visit and hang out with friends. Nevertheless, personality did not influence my choice for food gym, attending lectures, and driving to campus. Lifestyle did not also affect my preference for cooking dinner every Sunday, or attending lectures every weekday. Lastly, self-concept did not determine my choice for food, gym, as well as lecture attendance. References Babin, BJ & Harris, EG 2009, Consumer Behaviour, Cengage Learning South-Western, Mason, Ohio. Hoyer, W 2010, Consumer behavior, Australia Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Pp. 1-20. Gordon, BR & Sun, B 2009, A Dynamic Structural Model of Addiction, Promotions, and Permanent Price Cuts. Pp. 1-46. http://www.columbia.edu/~brg2114/files/dynaddiction.pdf Kharea, A 2011, ‘Influence of hedonic and utilitarian values in determining attitude towards malls: A case of Indian small city consumers’, Journal of Retail & Leisure Property (2011) 9, 429–442. doi:10.1057/rlp.2011.6 http://www.palgrave-journals.com/rlp/journal/v9/n5/full/rlp20116a.html Khan, U & Dhar, R 2004, A Behavioral Decision Theoretic Perspective on Hedonic and Utilitarian Choice. Pp. 1-37. https://faculty-gsb.stanford.edu/khan/documents/ChapterinInsideConsumption.pdf Østergaard, P, Hellmann, K, & Schrage, D 2010, Different Perspectives on Consumption, Consumer, Culture, and Society. A workshop in Berlin on March 26 & 27, 2010. Pp. 1-36. http://www.consumerculturetheory.org/news-1/files/Berlin-Workshop-Reader.pdf Perner, L 2010, Consumer Behavior: The Psychology of Marketing, USC Marshall. Retrieved on August 29, 2012 from http://www.consumerpsychologist.com/ Appendices Read More