Consumer Behaviour: Meaning, Definition and Factors of Consumer Behaviour

Meaning and Definition

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas, or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants.
In other words, Consumer behaviour is the behavior of consumer towards certain product, the factors which decides the behavior of consumer towards certain products are studied under consumer behaviour.

In accordance with Solomon (2006) “consumer behaviour is defined as the process of decision making and physical activity involved in acquiring, evaluating, using, and disposing of goods and services to satisfy needs and want”.

According to Belch and Belch (2001), consumer behaviour is “the process and activities of people engage when searching for selecting, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services as if satisfy their need and desires”.

Factors affecting Consumer Behaviour

 A consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors. Of these, cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence.

1. Cultural Factors: Culture, subculture, and social class are particularly important influences on consumer buying behavior. Culture is the fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior.
EX: A child growing up in another country might have a different view of self, relationship to others, and rituals.
 Each culture consists of smaller subcultures that provide more specific identification and socialization for their members. Subcultures include nationalities, religions, racial groups, and geographic regions.
All human societies exhibit social stratification,most often in the form of social classes, and with members who share similar values,interests,and behavior.
EX: Upper-class consumers often prefer magazines and books, and lower-class consumers often prefer television.

2. Social Factors: In addition to cultural factors, social factors such as reference groups, family, and social roles and statuses affect our buying behavior. 

• REFERENCE GROUPS: It includes all the groups that have a direct or indirect influence on their attitudes or behavior. Some of these are family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
• FAMILY:  The family is the most important consumer buying organization in society, and family members constitute the most influential primary reference group.
• ROLES AND STATUSES: We each participate in many groups—family, clubs, organizations. A person's position in each group can be defined as in terms of role and status.

3. Personal Factors: Personal characteristics that influence a buyer’s decision include age and stage in the life cycle, occupation and economic circumstances, personality and self-concept, and lifestyle and values.

• AGE AND STAGE IN THE LIFE CYCLE: Our taste in food,clothes,furniture,and recreation is often related to our age.Consumption is also shaped by the family life cycle and the number,age, and gender of people in the household at any point in time.
• OCCUPATION AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES: Occupation also influences consumption patterns. EX: Luxury-goods makers such as Gucci, Prada, and Burberry are vulnerable to an economic downturn. If economic indicators point to a recession, marketers can take steps to redesign, reposition, and reprice their products.
•  PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPT: Each person has personality characteristics that influence his or her buying behavior.
• LIFESTYLE AND VALUES:  A lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living in the world as expressed in activities, interests, and opinions. Marketers search for relationships between their products and lifestyle groups.