FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

 

SOCIAL FACTORS:

Human Beings are social animals. We all live in a society and it is really important for individuals to adhere to the laws and regulations of society. Human try to imitate other humans and also wish to be socially accepted in the society. Hence their buying behavior is influenced by other people around them. These factors are considered as social factors. Some of the social factors are:

      i.            Family

Family plays a significant role in shaping the buying behavior of a person. A person develops preferences from his childhood by watching family buy products and continues to buy the same products even when they grow up.

  ii.            Reference Groups

Reference group is a group of people with whom a person associates himself. Generally, all the people in the reference group have common buying behavior and influence each other.

iii.            Role in the Society

A person is influenced by the role that he holds in the society. A person who is a Chief Executive Officer in a company will buy according to his status while a staff or an employee of the same company will have different buying pattern.

iv.            Social Status

An Individual from Upper Middle Class would spend on luxurious items whereas an individual from middle to lower income group would buy items required for his/her survival.

 

PERSONAL FACTORS:

Factors that are personal to the consumers influence their buying behavior. These personal factors differ from person to person, thereby producing different perceptions and consumer behavior.

Some of the personal factors are:

       i.            Age

Age is a major factor that influences buying behavior. The buying choices of youth differ from that of middle-aged people. Elderly people have a totally different buying behavior. Teenagers will be more interested in buying colorful clothes and beauty products. Middle-aged are focused on house, property and vehicle for the family.

     ii.            Income

Income has the ability to influence the buying behavior of a person. Higher income gives higher purchasing power to consumers. When a consumer has higher disposable income, it gives more opportunity for the consumer to spend on luxurious products. Whereas low-income or middle-income group consumers spend most of their income on basic needs such as groceries and clothes.

  iii.            Occupation

Occupation of a consumer influences the buying behavior. A person tends to buy things that are appropriate to this/her profession. For example, a doctor would buy clothes according to this profession while a professor will have different buying pattern.

  iv.            Lifestyle

Lifestyle is an attitude, and a way in which an individual stay in the society. The buying behavior is highly influenced by the lifestyle of a consumer. For example, when a consumer leads a healthy lifestyle, then the products he buys will relate to healthy alternatives to junk food.

 

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS:

Human psychology is a major determinant of consumer behavior. These factors are difficult to measure but are powerful enough to influence a buying decision.

Some of the important psychological factors are:

       i.            Motivation

When a person is motivated enough, it influences the buying behaviour of the person. A person has many needs such as the social needs, basic needs, security needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. Out of all these needs, the basic needs and security needs take a position above all other needs. Hence basic needs and security needs have the power to motivate a consumer to buy products and services.

     ii.            Perception

Consumer perception is a major factor that influences consumer behavior. Customer perception is a process where a customer collects information about a product and interprets the information to make a meaningful image about a particular product. When a customer sees advertisements, promotions, customer reviews, social media feedback, etc. relating to a product, they develop an impression about the product. Hence consumer perception becomes a great influence buying decision of consumers. Learning can be either conditional or cognitive.

  iii.            Learning

When a person buys a product, he/she gets to learn something more about the product. Learning comes over a period of time through experience. A consumer’s learning depends on skills and knowledge. While a skill can be gained through practice, knowledge can be acquired only through experience. In conditional learning the consumer is exposed to a situation repeatedly, thereby making a consumer to develop a response towards it. Whereas in cognitive learning, the consumer will apply his knowledge and skills to find satisfaction and a solution from the product that he buys.

    v.            Attitudes and Beliefs

Consumers have certain attitude and beliefs which influence the buying decisions of a consumer. Based on this attitude, the consumer behaves in a particular way towards a product. This attitude plays a significant role in defining the brand image of a product. Hence, the marketers try hard to understand the attitude of a consumer to design their marketing campaigns.

 

CULTURAL FACTORS:

A group of people are associated with a set of values and ideologies that belong to a particular community. When a person comes from a particular community, his/her behavior is highly influenced by the culture relating to that particular community. Some of the cultural factors are:

       i.            Culture

Cultural Factors have strong influence on consumer buyer behavior.  Cultural Factors include the basic values, needs, wants, preferences, perceptions, and behaviors that are observed and learned by a consumer from their near family members and other important people around them.

     ii.            Subculture

Within a cultural group, there exists many subcultures. These subcultural groups share the same set of beliefs and values. Subcultures can consist of people from different religion, caste, geographies and nationalities. These subcultures by itself form a customer segment.

  iii.            Social Class

Each and every society across the globe has form of social class. The social class is not just determined by the income, but also other factors such as the occupation, family background, education and residence location. Social class is important to predict the consumer behavior.