Consumer behaviour





Engel, Blachwell and mansard define “consumer behaviour as the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and service for personal consumption.

Bitta and Louden define -  “consumer behaviour is the decision process and physical activity, which individual engage in when evaluating acquiring, using or disposing of goods and services.


Feature of consumer Behaviour
the nature (feature) of consumer behaviour is brief started as follow
1.    Process
Consumer behaviour is a systematic process relating to buying decision o the customer. The buying process consists of the following step.
·       Need identification to buy the product
·       Information search relating to the product
·       Listing of alternative brands
·       Evaluating the alternative ( cost-benefits analysis )
·       Purchase decision
·       Post-purchase evaluation by the marketer.

2.    Influenced by various factor
Consumer behaviour is complex in nature because it is influenced by a number of factors. The factor that influence consumer behaviour are as follow
·       Marketing factor as product design, price and promotion
·       Personal factor as age, gender, education and income
·       Psychological factor as buying motive and attitudes.
·       Situational factor as physical and social surrounding at the time of purchase.
·       Social factor as social status and reference groups
·       Cultural factor, as religion, region and so on.


3.    Different for different customer
All consumer do not behave the same manner. Different consumer behave differently. The differences in consumer behaviour are due to individual factor as nature of the consumer, lifestyle, culture etc.

For instance, some consumer are shopaholic. They go on shopping spree beyond their means. They borrow money from friend, relative, bank and at times even adopt unethical means to spend on shopping. But there are other consumer, despite having lot of surplus money may not go for regular shopping.

4.    Different for different product
Consumer behaviour is different for different product. There are some consumer who may but more quantity of certain items and very low / no quantity of some other item.

For instance, a college student may spend on buying books for general accessories, but may not spend on buying books for general reading (although general reading is vital for college students). A middle aged person may spend less on clothing, but may invest money in saving, insurance schemes, pension schemes and so on.

5.    Varies across regions
The consumer behaviour varies across states, regions and country. For instant the behaviour of urban consumer is different from that of rural consumer. Rural consumer are conservative in their buying behaviour. The rich rural consumer may think twice to spend on luxuries despite having sufficient funds. The urban consumer may buy even with bank loan luxury items like cars, household appliances, etc. Also, across the state, regions and country the consumer behaviour may differ depending upon the upbringing, lifestyles, level of development etc.


6.    Vital for marketers
Marketer need to have a god knowledge of consumer behaviour. They need to study the various factors that influence consumer behaviour of their target customer. The knowledge of consumer behaviour enables marketers to take appropriate marketing decision in respect of.

·       Product design / model
·       Pricing of the product
·       Promotion of the product
·       Packaging, etc.


7.    Reflects status
Consumer behaviour  not only influenced by the status of a consumer, but it also reflects it. Those consumer who own luxury cars, watches and other items are considered by others as person of higher status. The luxury items also given a sense of pride to the owners,


8.    Improves standard of living
Consumer buying behaviour may lead to higher standard of living. The more a person buys the goods and services, the higher is the standard of living. But if a person spends less on goods and services, despite having good income may deprive him / her of higher standard of living.


9.    Undergoes a change
The consumer behaviour undergoes a change over a period of time depending upon change in age, education and income level etc. For instance, kids may prefer colourful dresses, but as they grow up as teenagers and young adults, they may prefer trendy clothes and the middle aged and senior citizen may prefer more of sober clothing.