Introduction to topic

CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in

buying and using products. Need to understand the concept is

Why consumers make the purchases that they make?

What factors influence consumer purchases?

The changing factors in our society.

Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate

consumer. Many factors, specificities and characteristics influence the
individual in what he is and the consumer in his decision-making process,
shopping habits, purchasing behaviour, the brands he buys or the retailers he
goes. A purchase decision is the result of each and every one of these factors.
An individual and a consumer is led by his culture, his subculture, his social
class, his membership groups, his family, his personality, his psychological
factors, etc.

Consumer behaviour refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of

goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different
processes involved in the consumer behaviour. Initially the consumer tries to
find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those
commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the
consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend.
Lastly, the consumer analyses the prevailing prices of commodities and takes
the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are
various other factors influencing the purchases of Pinki Rani, Assistant, LIC,
Kurukshetra. Consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological.

The explanation of these factors is given below.

Consumer s buyer behaviour is influenced by four major factors:

1) Cultural,

2) Social,

3) Personal,

4) Psychological.

These factors cause consumers to develop product and brand preferences.

Although many of these factors cannot be directly controlled by marketers,
understanding of their impact is essential as marketing mix strategies can be
developed to appeal to the preferences of the target market. When purchasing
any product, a consumer goes through a decision process.

This process consists of up to five stages:

Stage 1: problem recognition,

Stage 2: information search,

Stage 3: evaluation of alternatives,

Stage 4: purchase decision

Stage 5: post purchase behaviour.

The length of this decision process will vary. A consumer may not act in
isolation in the purchase, but rather may be influenced by any of several
people in various roles. The number of people involved in the buying decision
increases with the level of involvement and complexity of the buying decision
behaviour.

Consumer s buyer behaviour and the resulting purchase decision are strongly
influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics. An
understanding of the influence of these factors is essential for marketers in
order to develop suitable marketing mixes to appeal to the target customer.

Cultural Factors - Culture and societal environment Culture is crucial when it

comes to understanding the needs and behaviours of an individual. Basically,
culture is the part of every society and is the important cause of person wants
and behaviour. The influence of culture on buying behaviour varies from
country to country therefore marketers have to be very careful in analysing the
culture of different groups, regions or even countries. Throughout his
existence, an individual will be influenced by his family, his friends, his
cultural environment or society that will teach him values, preferences as well
as 54 common behaviours to their own culture. For a brand, it is important to
understand and take into account the cultural factors inherent to each market or
to each situation in order to adapt its product and its marketing strategy. As
these will play a role in the perception, habits, behaviour or expectations of
consumers. For example, in the West, it is common to invite colleagues or
friends at home for a drink or dinner.
In Japan, on the contrary, invite someone home does not usually fit into the
local customs. It is preferable to do that this kind of outing with friends or
colleagues in restaurant.

While if a Japanese offer you a gift, the courtesy is to offer him an equivalent
gift in return. McDonald s is a brilliant example of adaptation to the
specificities of each culture and each market. Well aware of the importance to
have an offer with specific products to meet the needs and tastes of consumers
from different cultures, the fast-food giant has for example: a Baguette in
France (with French baguette and Dijon mustard), a Chicken Maharaja Mac
and a Masala Grill Chicken in India (with Indian spices) as well as a Mega
Teriyaki Burger (with teriyaki sauce) or Gurakoro (with macaroni gratin and
croquettes) in Japan.

MCDONALS
McDonald's Corporation is an American fast food company, founded in 1940
as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San
Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as
a hamburger stand, and later turned the company into a franchise, with
the Golden Arches logo being introduced in 1953 at a location in Phoenix,
Arizona. In 1955, Ray Kroc, a businessman, joined the company as a franchise
agent and proceeded to purchase the chain from the McDonald brothers.
McDonald's had its original headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, but moved its
global headquarters to Chicago in early 2018.

McDonald's is the world's largest restaurant chain by revenue, serving over 69

million customers daily in over 100 countries across 37,855 outlets as of
2018. Although McDonald's is best known for its
hamburgers, cheeseburgers and French fries, they also feature chicken
products, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, wraps, and desserts. In
response to changing consumer tastes and a negative backlash because of the
unhealthiness of their food, the company has added to its
menu salads, fish, smoothies, and fruit. The McDonald's Corporation revenues
come from the rent, royalties, and fees paid by the franchisees, as well as sales
in company-operated restaurants. According to two reports published in 2018,
McDonald's is the world's second-largest private employer with 1.7 million
employees (behind Walmart with 2.3 million employ

McDonald's restaurants are found in 120 countries and territories around the
world and serve 68 million customers each day. McDonald's operates 37,855
restaurants worldwide, employing more than 210,000 people as of the end of
2018. There are currently a total of 2,770 company-owned locations and
35,085 franchised locations, which includes 21,685 locations franchised to
conventional franchisees, 7,225 locations licensed to developmental licensees,
and 6,175 locations licensed to foreign affiliates.

Focusing on its core brand, McDonald's began divesting itself of other chains
it had acquired during the 1990s. The company owned a majority stake
in Chipotle Mexican Grill until October 2006, when McDonald's fully divested
from Chipotle through a stock exchange. Until December 2003, it also
owned Donatos Pizza, and it owned a small share of Aroma Café from 1999 to
2001. On August 27, 2007, McDonald's sold Boston Market to Sun Capital
Partners.

Notably, McDonald's has increased shareholder dividends for 25 consecutive

years, making it one of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats. The company is
ranked 131st on the Fortune 500 of the largest United States corporations by
revenue. In October 2012, its monthly sales fell for the first time in nine
years. In 2014, its quarterly sales fell for the first time in seventeen years,
when its sales dropped for the entirety of 1997.

In the United States, it is reported that drive-throughs account for 70 percent of

sales. McDonald's closed down 184 restaurants in the United States in 2015,
which was 59 more than what they planned to open. This move was also the
first time McDonald's had a net decrease in the number of locations in the
United States since 1970.

The McDonalds on-demand delivery concept, which began in 2017 with a

partnership with Uber Eats and added Door Dash in 2019, now accounts for up
to 3% of all business as of 2019.
Headquarters

On June 13, 2016, McDonald's confirmed plans to move its global

headquarters to Chicago's West Loop neighbourhood in the Near West Side.
The 608,000-square-foot structure was built on the former site of Harpo
Productions (where the Oprah Winfrey Show and several other Harpo
productions taped) and opened on June 4, 2018.

The McDonald's former headquarters complex, McDonald's Plaza, is located

in Oak Brook, Illinois. It sits on the site of the former headquarters and
stabling area of Paul Butler, the founder of Oak Brook. McDonald's moved
into the Oak Brook facility from an office within the Chicago Loop in 1971.

Board of directors

As of January 2019, the board of directors had the following members:

 Enrique Hernandez Jr., non-executive chairman. Also president and CEO

of Inter-Con Security

 Lloyd H. Dean, president and CEO of Dignity Health

 Stephen J. Easterbrook, president and CEO of McDonald's

 Robert A. Eckert, operating partner of Friedman Fleischer & Lowe

 Margaret H. Georgiadis, CEO of Ancestry.com

 Jeanne P. Jackson, CEO of MSP Capital

 Richard H. Lenny, non-executive of Conagra Brands, Inc.

 John J. Mulligan, executive vice president and COO of Target Corporation

 Sheila A. Penrose, non-executive chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle

Incorporated

 John W. Rogers Jr., chairman and CEO of Ariel Investments, LLC

 Miles D. White, chairman and CEO of Abbott Laboratories

 Andrew J. McKenna, chairman emeritus. Also, chairman emeritus of

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