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INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR

Consumer Behaviour
It’s a Simple term that describes a multitude of
 mental and
 physical
processes associated with consumer decision-making.

It includes all related activities of consumers and buyers of products

(pre‐purchase, purchase and post‐purchase)
In different contexts with the aim of satisfying their needs.

The contribution of multiple disciplines to the field:

The 1st textbook on consumer behaviour was written by Howard and Seth in 1968.
Consumer behaviour as a field of study has an involvement with other disciplines that are associated with theoretical
perspectives:

1. Economic perspective
Assumes that consumers formulate needs and wants
 in terms of concrete and rational criteria
(before a loan they would first look at the interest and loan
duration).
They believe that consumers in a specific market are alike.

2. Psychological perspective
o Acknowledge individual consumer traits (or distinguishing
characteristics) and
o differences in consumers’ behaviour like
 motivation,
 personality,
 attitude,
 product preferences and
 perception.

Marketing is used in such a way that it enhances the target markets

personalities to attract them.

(Consumers’ would rather pay more for a product at a

sophisticated
store than pay less for the same product at a cheaper
department store).
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3. Sociological perspective
A consumer doesn’t operate in isolation.
This tries to u/S consumers’ behaviour based on  their affiliation and
association within groups.
It considers the influence of family, households, peer groups and age groups.

4. Cultural perspective
Tries to understand
-consumption behaviour and
-product needs
of specific cultures and sub-cultures
for example, nationalities, ethnic groups and religious groups & analyses and interprets cross-
cultural influences in societies.
 Etic perspective
Considers the viewpoints of other cultures.

 Emic perspective
Discussion is specific to one culture like for example Xhosas.

Simple versus complex decision‐making:

Consumer decisions differ in terms of:
How? Why? Type of decisions? Who? Where?
 A consumer decision is a process rather than a single action although it could
be:

1. Impulsive purchase decision (fairly swift)

– makes decision without any prior consideration.

2. Habitual decision (routine)

– based on multiple/similar decisions in the past.

3. Complex decision (more lengthy process)

– consideration over time.

4. Complexity can depend on more than the product type:

• Consumer’s skills and abilities to handle the buying decision.
(have info of what you are buying)
• Consumer’s involvement during the decision process.
(knowledgeable about product)
• Variety of products available to choose from.
• Context in which the decision is made.
(person from rural and urban area)
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SIMPLE CONSUMER DECISION:

(habitual decision can be both)
 The consumer has a reasonable degree of experience & skill.
 Product holds minimal risk.
 Product is easy to replace.
 Product not visibly conspicuous.
 The customer chooses a reputable brand,
therefore is confident that it will perform as expected.

COMPLEX CONSUMER DECISION:

 The consumer has little or no experience in handling such a decision.
 Some form of risk attached to decision.
 Product is novel.
 Many product alternatives exist.

Handling consumer decisions:

Simple consumer decisions are usually handled
 with a limited external information search.

These decisions are usually made within the existing knowledge

frameworks
(previous experiences)

COMPLEX CONSUMER DECISIONS:

more information required to expand existing knowledge.

EXTERNAL SOURCES:
• Personal information sources like friends and family or salespeople.

• Gatekeepers
(family members who control the purchases
of other less experienced family members)
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• Non‐personal information sources like technical reports or electronical

media.
o These sources are useful when dealing with complex factual
information
but may take time and effort to access
therefore complex decisions take longer.

The consumer decision‐making process:

Inputs Process Outputs

1. Inputs:
Consumer decisions influenced on internal & external levels
 INTERNAL:
Consumers’ decisions are influenced by their existing knowledge,
 based on learning and prior experiences, and personal characteristics
such as intellectual capacity, personality, attitude, and
perception.

 External:
o Controllable marketing forces
– can be manipulated like the prices of a company.
- Four p’s

o Uncontrollable marketing forces

– can’t be manipulated like economic conditions.

o Socio‐cultural factors
– lifestyle and cultural context-related factors like social status,
culture and family.

2.PROCESS: 3 STAGES
 Need recognition
– a point when the customer realizes they need something.
 Information search
– usually before a purchase. Simple decisions require a limited information
search while complex decisions require an extensive information search.
 Evaluation of alternatives
– (Evoked set of products/services – number of possibilities). The customer
distinguishes
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between the alternatives and eliminates the less acceptable products and
accepts the more
acceptable products. The accepted products are either chosen based on
previous positive
experiences or might be seen as new possibilities. They then need to
choose the best option:

 Decision rules/strategies:
 Compensatory vs. non‐compensatory strategies:
Compensatory strategy
– the consumer assigns a score to each product to see which
product has the
highest weighted score. They compare good performance
vs. bad
performance.

 Price range, preferences

The product chosen might have features that causes

dissatisfaction due to other products’ positive attributes like a
good price or brand name.

Non-compensatory strategy
– don’t allow 1 positive attribute to compensate for 1/more negative
attribute of a
product/service. 3 options:
 Conjunctive rule – the consumer evaluates all the products
individually and has minimum acceptable levels/cut-off
points/requirements for each product feature. Any product
that doesn’t meet the requirements for any of the features
will be eliminated. Usually reduces the number of
alternatives then another rule is used to make the final
decision.
- Ex. I want to buy a iPad for not more ten Rxxxxx

 DISJUNCTIVE RULE
– Similar to ^ but the cut-off point is higher. The products
that meet/exceed the minimum cut-off point for every
product feature are kept.
- Better than what expect

 LEXICOGRAPHIC RULE
– Used to identify the final product choice. Which product
performs best on the most important features?

 AFFECT REFERRAL RULE

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– consumers consider the entire product based on overall

perceptions formed through experience/previous exposure
to the product.

3. Outputs:
Actual consumer decision where the consumer decides to purchase the
product/service that is the most suitable in that context.

The most suitable choice depends on the consumers’ perception

 of the most important criterion.

After a purchase, COGNITIVE DISSONANCE can occur

because they are uncertain of whether the product chosen from
the evoked set of products will prove itself to be the best choice.

*Cognitive dissonance  a post‐purchase feeling of DISCOMFORT.

The consumer experiences uncertainty/discomfort AFTER purchasing the

product
= caused by the consumer’s awareness of the positive attributes of the
products that haven’t been selected and the realisation that the decision can’t
be reversed easily.

Final product represents some sort of compromise because the decisions are
not necessarily rational and the evoked set of products do not differ
significantly.

The level of cognitive dissonance may differ between consumers.

High-dissonance consumers are less certain about their choice and more
anxious.

If the product meets/exceeds expectations = positive disconfirmation occurs.

If the product doesn’t meet the expectations = negative disconfirmation
occurs.

Strategies for dissonance reduction:

 Seek information that supports the purchase decision.

 Gaining confirmation from friends who have had positive experiences with
a similar product.

 Applying a defence technique to justify the purchase.

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Any type of positive feedback may relieve uncertainty:

 When they start using the product and it performs according to
expectations.

 When someone else admires the product.

 When concrete evidence, that supports the product choice, is

produced.

The evolution of the marketing concept:

From an economically driven, rational, manipulative approach -> informative,
supportive approach.
Time period / epoch: Marketing orientation:
Second half of 1940s Production orientation: manufacture &
sell
whatever products the market
demanded. Did not focus on quality.
1950s Product orientation: focused on
product quality. Did not focus on
customer needs.
1960s Sales orientation: aggressive,
persuasive selling techniques – door-
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to-door selling.
Transaction-oriented efforts: over-
emphasis on selling.
Supply > Demand
Birth of customer/consumer
orientation: Consumer Bill of Rights.
Societal marketing concept – aims to
protect consumers against
exploitation.
1970s ‘So‐called’ market orientation
(consumer
orientation) – importance of
marketing strategies and relationships
with consumers.
1990s Relationship orientation – long-term
relationships with consumers.
Present Personal/social marketing orientation
– using the internet.