Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour and Purchasing Decisions - Essay Example

Consumer Behaviour Name Number Course Tutor Date Introduction Marketing is an important undertaking in any business organization. It creates a platform which enables the interaction with the consumers in the market. Consequently, important insights on the market requirements and consumers’ needs and preferences are derived. However, to enable business growth, appropriate marketing strategies which are consumer oriented should be implemented. However, there exist different views on how businesses conduct their affairs in today’s economy. Nevertheless, it is quite true that for any business entity to succeed, even in the contemporary world, it should focus mainly on the taste, preferences and needs of the consumers of its products and services. This is mainly because this enables the business organizations to identify the market requirements based on consumers’ needs and consequently, create awareness of their products and services that are available in the market. Therefore, lack of appropriate and effective marketing strategies would indeed eventually lead to failure in management and the subsequent lack of growth of the business. The study of consumer trends and behaviour has recently been of great interest to market researchers and practitioners (Blackwell et al., 2006). This is mainly because of the perceived significant association between the consumer trends and the sales of different products in a highly competitive and less differentiated market. Therefore, several researches continue to focus on the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. In general, the literature overview relating to the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions illustrates several areas of interest for business organizations when developing and implementing marketing strategies. These include consumer loyalty, satisfaction, branding, market patronage and the value the consumers attach to shopping (Bäckström & Johannsson, 2006). However, within the broad diverse literature, the focus primarily lies on two major areas. These two primary areas of focus for marketers include the consumer purchasing behaviour and the subsequent subjective outcomes of the consumer purchasing decisions. Indeed, the recognition of consumer satisfaction generating consumer lifetime value is evident (Alvarez & Casielles, 2005). Therefore, most market researchers utilize Maslow hierarchy of needs theory to determine and evaluate the factors which affect the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. Several researches have established that consumer purchasing behaviour is significantly determined by the subsequent satisfaction that the consumers expect to derive from a given utility (goods or services). According to Schiffman (2005), consumer purchasing decisions are usually based on the expected satisfaction from a utility. Therefore, the establishment and evaluation of the factors that influence consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions is essential for the development and implementation of effective marketing strategies. This is majorly because the study of the factors that influence consumer behaviour provides further understanding of consumer trends and purchasing decisions associated with different products in the market. Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour and Purchasing Decisions There are several factors which are believed to significantly influence the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. Consequently, these factors should be put into consideration when developing and implementing marketing strategies for products targeted for different market segments. The main factors influencing consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions are as follows; a) Identity Consumer taste and preference have been established in previous studies as one of the major factors, which influence consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. This is mostly related to the features and traits that consumers believe give them a sense of identity. As a result, brand loyalty influences the consumer purchasing behaviour (Carpenter & Fairhurst, 2005). In general, consumers’ choice of brand is based on personal style, influence from celebrity and the image associated with certain fashion brands in the market. Consequently, consumers’ purchases associated certain products like fashion clothing are majorly based on the satisfaction of higher emotional needs rather than basic needs (Solomon, 2007). The higher psychological needs relates to the sense of identity that an individual derives from being associated with certain brands. These aspects which relate to a sense of identity derived from specific brands are very subjective and personal, hence making the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions associated with products in the market to vary among consumers. In addition, the personality of an individual significantly influences the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. This is majorly based on the general perception that appearance says a lot of about an individual. Therefore, consumer purchasing behaviour is mostly guided by the consumer’s beliefs and personality. According to Blackwell (2006), consumer awareness and desire to express their sociability influences their purchasing behaviour. As a result, brands incorporate other socially acceptable products such as earrings, necklaces, shoes and handbags to their products (Alvarez & Casielles, 2005). Celebrities also have major influence on consumers’ sense of identity. The lifestyle of celebrities as portrayed by the media shapes some individuals’ identity (Carpenter & Fairhurst, 2005). Therefore, some consumers purchase certain brands so as to ascribe to the lifestyle of their favourite celebrities. Hence, the image of celebrities as portrayed by the media through award shows, celebrity magazines, red carpet events and other events associated with celebrities, greatly influences the consumer purchasing behaviour. b) Physical Factors Based on the recent consumer trends in the different market segments, brands have incorporated specific attributes to their products to meet consumers’ preferences. For instance, most fashion brands have incorporated different body shape into their fashion designs. This has largely been attributed to the influence of shape and design of fashion clothing, on the consumer’s taste and preference. Hence, today most fashion designers make clothes that would fit the body shape of different consumers and also be appropriate for their age and occupation (Schiffman, 2005). Generally, consumers behaviour and purchasing decisions associated with fashion clothes is based on the expectation that such clothes would fit them well and they would feel comfortable wearing such clothing (Carpenter & Fairhurst, 2005). Cultural suitability also influences the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions (Blackwell et al., 2006). In Thailand, culture has a great influence on the perception related to the way of dressing. Therefore, as children grow, the influence of their societal culture shapes their perceptions related to the appropriate clothing to be worn. Some of the values that the consumers acquire based on cultural practices include the definition of comfort, youthfulness, expression of freedom, practicability, efficiency, and health concerns. Therefore, existing cultural practices significantly influence and shape consumer purchasing behaviour. c) Individual’s Lifestyle The lifestyle of an individual also influences the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. This is because the different types of brands available in the market are usually suited for different lifestyles (Alvarez & Casielles, 2005). Therefore, the consumer choices associated with different brands are mostly related to the occupation and the general lifestyle of an individual. For instance, women who hold high positions in business organisations are usually compelled to make purchases that suit their status in society. Consequently, the bulk of purchases of such women will consist of brands like business suits, which fit the perceived expected outlook of the positions held by these women. On the other hand, expectant women are likely to be compelled to purchase clothes that would make them feel comfortable and allow them to carry out their chores with much ease. Therefore, the aspect of design of brands is very important as it influences the consumer perception related to the style, value and the quality of different brands (Quester, Pettigrew & Hawkins, 2014). In addition, the social status of an individual greatly influences the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. Consumers, who identify themselves to belong to high social class, would tend to make efforts towards living a lifestyle that is associated with their social class. In most cases, consumers from high social classes avoid buying products that are priced cheaply. This is mainly due to the general perception that, what is priced cheaply is of low quality (Carpenter & Fairhurst, 2005). Consequently, the price like many of the many other items on sale has a big influence on the consumer purchasing decision. Theoretical Framework The Maslow hierarchy of needs theory proposes that in order to fulfil the higher emotional needs like psychological needs, the lower more basic needs have to be met. This implies that there are needs that consumers want to meet in their purchasing behaviour. The needs according to Maslow theory consist of physiological needs, safety, love/belonging, esteem and self actualisation. However, the physiological and self actualization needs have no immediate influence on the consumer’s behaviour and purchasing decisions. The urgent needs that influence the consumers’ behaviour and purchasing decisions include; Safety Consumer’s safety needs relate to the consumers desire to satisfy their basic needs, which include food, shelter and clothing. This shows that with other factors excluded, food, shelter and clothes will always be considered priorities and basic needs. Therefore, even though housing and clothing cannot be classified as a physiological need since they do not fall under the category of bodily needs, they can be classified amongst the most urgent of needs. According to Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins (2014), a person’s health and well being influences the consumer to choose clothes that suit different weather conditions. The comfort, fitness and body shape of a person also influence the consumer purchasing behaviour. In addition, some consumers will go as far as analyzing the fabric of a cloth so as avoid allergies and health related complications that are related some types of fabric. Love/ Belonging According to Carpenter and Fairhurst (2005), a lot of young people will buy a certain brand from a variety in the market based on the opinion of those who surround them. These people include parents, friends, love interest and siblings. This influence is sometimes extended to public figures such as celebrities. In several previous researches, a sense of pride and belonging has been identified as one of the major factors which influence the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. Therefore, consumers purchase such brands so as to satisfy their need and sense of patriotism. Esteem According to Schiffman (2005), some consumers buy certain brands to modify their self esteem. Self concept by a person goes into three categories; ideal self, social self and actual self. Self esteem and the need to be respect by others greatly influences the consumer behaviour and purchasing decisions. People who want to feel good and be viewed in a positive manner will most likely purchase luxurious products (Carpenter & Fairhurst, 2005). Therefore, some consumers will go out of their way to buy products they may not afford. Typically, every individual would want to feel important, and some brands usually have a way of making a person feel important and respected. For instance, a person in a suit will receive more respect than a person in a sweatshirt, even though the person in a sweatshirt may be actually more sophisticated than the suit wearer. Consequently consumers tend to purchase brands that would mostly likely earn them respect and admiration from other people in the society. Conclusion In general, most businesses fail not due to lack of market for their products and services, but because they define their industry incorrectly. This is actually true and is mainly attributed to the broad aims and policies of the business as stated by the top management of the failing business organizations. Hence, it is important that every business not only defines its industry correctly but also be consumer- oriented rather than product-oriented. This would eventually enable the managers and the business executives formulate and implement the appropriate and effective marketing and business strategies. References Alvarez, B & Casielles, R. (2005). Consumer evaluations of sales promotion: The effect on brand choice, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 39, no. 1, p. 54-70. Bäckström, K & Johannsson, U. (2006). Creating and consuming experiences in retail store environments. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 13 (6), 417-430. Blackwell, R. et al. (2006). Consumer Behaviour, an Asia Pacific Approach, Cengage Learning, Australia. Carpenter, J. M., & Fairhurst, A. (2005). Consumer shopping value, satisfaction, and loyalty for retail apparel brands, Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, vol. 9, no. 3, pp.256 269. Schiffman, Bednall et al. (2005). Consumer Behaviour, Pearson, Australia. Solomon, Dann et al. (2007). Consumer Behaviour, Pearson, Australia. Quester, P., Pettigrew, S. and Hawkins, D.I. (2014). Consumer Behaviour, 7th ed. McGraw-Hill, Australia. Read More