Consumer Behaviour

Aspects and factors influencing consumer behavior

Rujuta Parab

Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research

Submitted to

Dr. Garima Sharma

Particulars Pg.No

Sr.No
1 Abstract 3

2 Introduction 4

3 Review Literature 5
4 Strengths and Weakness 9
5 Summary 12
6 Conclusion 13

7 References 14

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 1.Abstract

Consumer buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors

The objective of this research is to gain insights about consumer behaviour and develop in-

depth understanding about the various factors influencing consumer buying processes. Consumer

behaviour today has become more heterogenous and it has become increasingly important to

study various aspects of this subject. In-depth understanding of consumer behaviour forms the

basis of developing marketing strategies and maintaining market reputation .

Keywords: Consumer Buying Behaviour, decision making process ,

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 Aspects and factors influencing consumer behavior

2.Introduction

Today, considering the ever-changing and highly competitive business envoirnment

marketing has become an important aspect for any organization. Organizations focused on

acquiring customers by developing an efficient 4p’s model , marketing was a generalized process

with the same messages being sent out to all customers. But today with growing competition ,

the focus is more on the customer and providing what the customer wants . Customers have a

very crucial role in the success of any organisation since they are the people who generate

revenue for the organisation by buying, using and influencing others to buy their products and

services (Khaniwale, 2015)i Customers are the pivot of every business. For every business to be

able to survive will immensely depend on its potential customers. As a result, it will be a flop for

any business which does not identify and retain its customers This radical shift requires

organizations to analyse the consumer needs, preferences ,motivations and behaviours in-depth ,

understanding the internal and external factors influencing the purchasing decisions . Behaviour

is the numerous responses portrayed by individuals and consumers are individuals or groups who

purchase products. Consumer behaviour is the study of people’s needs and motivations in

choosing a particular product and deciding their patterns of purchases. It analyses how people

acquire , use and discard and make decisions about purchase .Consumer behaviour is not just

limited to the physical product purchase but also includes the factors from problem awareness to

the post -purchase stage .The field of consumer behaviour gained importance post mid

1960’s.Consumer behaviour borrows influences from disciplines like psychology, anthropology

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and sociology. In-depth understanding of consumer behaviour can prove to be a great

competitive advantage and organizations can avoid costly market strategy failures.

3.Review Literature

3.1 Dr. R. Srinivasan, Dr. R.K. Srivastava & Prof. Sandeep Bhanot (2014) studied the

influence of age on various aspects of purchase behavior of luxury brands like frequency of

buying luxury products, influence to buy luxury products and the repeat purchase intention, the

impact of age on various value dimension like financial value, functional value. This analysis

identified that there is a significant difference in perception towards various value dimensions

among people of different age groups. It identified that there is a strong relation between age

and intention to repurchase the brand. Younger people up to the age of 50 years show a more

positive intention to repurchase the brand as compared to people over 50 years.

3.2 Shringar Jha, Vishal Pradhan (2020 ) analyzed the changes in consumer behavior

during the Covid-19 pandemic on various dimensions like the availability of products, Financial

savings, Fear of health and the quality of products. The research identified product quality as

The most important aspect influencing consumer behavior . Sectors like healthcare, santization ,

media and entertainment gained spurge during to a drastic shift towards hygiene conscious

behavior.

3.3 Abdul Halim Abdul Majid et al (2018) shed light on the various factors influencing

consumer behavior such as cultural importance , price, motivation and religion. The study was

conducted using questionnaires with a rating scale from strongly agree to strongly disagree and

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concluded motivation to be one of the most important factor for consumer behavior in Saudi

arabia.

3.4 Vandana Sonwaney and Snehal Chincholkar (2019) conducted an analysis of the online

consumer buying behavior in tier 3 cities of Maharashtra. A proposed online consumer behavior

model describes the various factors of marketing stimuli, psychological factors, social factors ,

personal factors and the buyer’s intention and the effects this factors have on the decision making

process. Research was conducted using self administrated questionnaire by collection sample

data from six cities .This research contradicts with a few existing research studies (Karlsson el

at. ;2005) about the role of gender and price and its impact on the buying process.

3.5 Paulomi Chakraborty and A.S Suresh (2018) studied the factors influencing consumer

buying behavior in the retail industry and its impact on the consumer perception. This reseach

was conducted using a scaled questionnaire and a Likert scale. The research findings suggest that

brand , fitting and comfort are considered to be the most important variables in retail consumer

buying behavior. Hoardings is an essential factor which influences visibility and affects

consumer perception

3.6 Mohammad Hasan Galib and Jennifer Steiger (2018) aimed to study consumer

behavior by analyzing the factors that influence consumer intention and studying the direct and

indirect variables that influence customer’s intention to participate in social CRM. Using TAM

which is an model derived from the Theory of reasoned action this study constructs a research

model consisting on various elements of TAM such as attitudes, perceived ease of use, perceived

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usefulness, intention and additional elements like user satisfaction, perceived risk and perceived

enjoyment.

3.7 Letizia Alvino , Efthymios Constatinides and Massimo Franco aimed to study

neuromarketing research and its influence on consumer responses to marketing stimuli . It

attempts to explore in detail the gap between neuromarketing and marginal utility theory and its

application in understanding consumer behavior .The study uses a structured approach to analyse

the four main topics in neuromarketing research such as its application to products and brands,

reward systems, quality and value .In conclusion, the study suggests that the marginal utility

theory plays a key role in marketing and understanding and predicting consumer behavior in

particular

3.8 Vijay Victor et al (2018) analysed the different factors influencing consumer behaviour

and the purchase decision making process in a dynamic pricing envoirnment. The study used a

exploratory factor analysis and a purposive and intuitive sampling technique to measure and

classify numerous facets of online dynamic pricing situation such as awareness of dynamic

pricing, privacy, buying process and strategy , shopping experience, fair prices which influences

the consumer buying behaviour.

3.9 Charles Dennis and Chanaka Jayawardhena (2019) presented and analysed an

integrated model of e-consumer behaviour. The research analyses in-depth about the various

functional attributes like consumer attitude, consumer intention to purchase, past purchase

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experience and cues. The integrative framework provides relations of social factors, situational

factors and consumer traits to consumer behaviour in the online scenario.

3.10 Simon Manyiwa and Ian Crawford (2002) proposed a model built upon the Gutman’s

(1982) means-end theory and proposes four key categories of nested consumer choices,

attributes of consumer choices, consequences and values .In conclusion, the study states that

values related to actual choices in natural context might be more engaging and effective in

predicting consumer choices rather than using hypothetical context.

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4. Strengths and Weaknesses

4.1 Dr. R. Srinivasan, Dr. R.K. Srivastava & Prof. Sandeep Bhanot (2014) was successful

in developing a strong relation between age and the consumer buying behavior in the luxury

market. It has detailing the various .However the samples collected were restricted to a particular

region and hence the findings can vary according to regions and the same findings cannot be

applied universally.The study focuses on education as an aspect that affects behavior but fails to

consider other variables like age, gender that may have influence on the consumer behavior

4.2 Shringar Jha, Vishal Pradhan (2020 ) fails to understand the factors and reasons that

impact consumer behavior at a more in-depth granular level. But it was able to capture and gain

an overview of a broad range of factors causing change in consumer behavior during the Covid-

19 pandemic and its impact on the Indian economy

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 4.3 Abdul Halim Abdul Majid et al (2018) captures a wide range of factors and presents

findings that will assist towards transformation of public transportation and will help in

development of management development programs and management practices. However, this

study focuses on only one sector for analysis that is car dealers which makes it difficult to

understand the applicability of the findings to other fields .The scope of this study is also limited

to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia .

4.4 Vandana Sonwaney and Snehal Chincholkar (2019) This text is able to capture a wide

array of factors ranging from buyer’s intention, social factors detailing the impact these factors

have on the consumer buying behavior for the retail scenario the data was collected using a

convenience sampling technique which posses chances of biasness .Hence, a larger sample size

and a sampling technique may provide a more comprehensive analysis on the topic

4.5 Paulomi Chakraborty and A.S Suresh (2018)- This study provides great insights into the

various features , behavioural and buying patterns of hedonistic shoppers in FMCG, Retail and

Jewellery format.

4.6 Mohammad Hasan Galib and Jennifer Steiger (2018)This study did not make an

attempt to analyse if any mediating effects prevails by analyzing factors such as age, gender ,

income, occupation . The study did not include comparative analysis among multiple cultural

groups .Hence, cross-cultural analysis is a major area for further research.

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 4.7 Letizia Alvino , Efthymios Constatinides and Massimo Franco(2018) –This study

engages through a very detailed analysis of neuromarketing and the various interrelated factors

between neuromarketing and consumer behavior. But it failed to analyse the behavior of

consumers when exposed to greater quantity of the same items .It also fails to understand if there

is a correlation between impulse purchasing and marginal utility

4.8 Vijay Victor et al -The study correctly identified buying strategy , reprisal intentions

and self -protection intentions as the key factors having great influence on purchasing decisions

and consumer buying behaviour (2018). One of the limitations of this study was that the

respondents belonged to the 20-27 age group and hence the study findings might not be

generalizable to the whole population

4.9 Charles Dennis and Chanaka Jayawardhena (2019) However, this study did not include a

few factors such as the role of image, trust and e-interactivity which are influencing factors in e-

consumer behaviour .The influence of level of education in e-commerce buying behaviour has

been not emphasised upon. The buying process of consumer behaviour is of more importance to

marketing applications

4.10 Simon Manyiwa and Ian Crawford (2002) This study correctly emphases upon the

importance of social context when understanding the links between choice, patterns and values in

studying consumer behavior . But the research approach and methods followed rely heavily on

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the understanding and trust between the researcher and respondent which is a limitation of the

study.

5.Summary

The research studies have identified , measured and classified various factors influencing

consumer behavior and prospective decisions that may affect the consumer buying process. With

growth of the field , there is an increasing need to better understand the field by conducting in-

depth research about various facets of consumer behavior . Understanding customer’s needs and

buying psychology is of help to marketers and governments to develop suitable marketing

strategies. The research papers identified and analysed the various factors impacting the

consumer buying process such as demographic factors like age, gender, occupation ,

psychological factors like attitudes, perceptions and others. A set of dimensions identified in the

article can be used to characterize the various perspectives on consumer behaviour and the same

can be useful to marketers in developing various marketing mix strategies.

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 6.Conclusion

The buying process of consumer behaviour is of more importance to marketing applications than

the consumption process. Consumer research enables a marketer to understand factors

influencing buying decision, consumer needs, wants and motivation and thereby formulate an

appropriate marketing mix for the consumers. Some findings and outcomes may be of

importance to specific marketing practices but the overall goal of such research is to achieve a

greater understanding about consumer behaviour. The main aim of such research is to gain a

broader understanding of the impact of consumer behaviour .

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 References

Dr.Srinivasan, Dr.srivastava and Sandeep Bhanot , (2014). Impact of age on purchase of luxury.

brands. Journal of research in business and management , Volume 2 ,Issue 9 , pp.19-32

Paulomi Chakraborty and A.S Suresh (2018 ). A study of factors of consumer buying

behaviour and its impact on consumer perception.International journal of management

studiesCity Name: Publisher Name

Shringar Jha, Vishal Pradhan (2020 ). Factors causing change in consumer behavior during

Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of critical reviews, Volume 7 Issue 9, pp 1-13

Vandana Sonwaney and Snehal Chincholkar (2019).Identifying the factors influencing online

consumer buying behavior .International Journal of scientific and technical research.

Volume 8 Issue 08

Abdul Halim Abdul Majid ,Houcine Meddour, Oussama Saoula and (2018).Consumer buying

Behavior:The role of price , motivation, perceived cultural importance and religious

Orientation. Journal of business and retail management. Volume 12 Issue 8

Mohammad Hasan Galib and Jennifer Steiger (2018).Predicting Consumer Behaviour: An

extension of technology acceptance model. International Journal of marketing studies.

Volume 10 Issue 3

Letizia Alvino , Efthymios Constatinides and Massimo Franco(2018).Towards a better

Understanding of consumer behavior : Marginal utility as a parameter for

Neuromarketing research. International Journal of marketing studies.

Volume 10 Issue 1

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Charles Dennis, Len Tiu Wright, Bill Merrilees and Chanaka Jayawardhena (2019).e-Consumer

Behavior. European Journal of Marketing. Volume 43 Issue 9/10, pp 1-22

Vijay Victor, Jose Thoppan , Robert Jeyakumar Nathan, Fekete Farkas Maria (2018).Factors

Influencing consumer behavior and prospective purchase decisions in a dynamic pricing

envoirnment- An exploratory factor analysis approach. Article in social science, pp 2-15

Simon Manyiwa and Ian Crawford (2002).Determining linkages between consumer choices in a

Social context and the consumer’s value: A means-end approach. Journal of consumer

Behavior .

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