ACADEMIC TASK NO.

1
Q1. Why and How does the social Situations the
consumer is in play a role in behavior?
Q2. Outline the types of physical factors companies
try to affect and how they go for it
Q3. What Social Situations have you been in that
affected what you purchased?
Q4. What types of moods and time situations are
likely to affect people’s buying behavior?
Q1. Why and How does the social Situations the consumer is in
play a role in behavior?

Human beings are social animals. We need people around to

talk to and discuss various issues to reach to better solutions
and ideas. We all live in a society and it is really important for
individuals to adhere to the laws and regulations of society.
Social Factors influencing consumer buying decision can be
classified as under:
1.Reference Groups
2.Immediate Family Members
3.Relatives
4. Role in the Society
5. Status in the society
Reference Groups
Every individual has some people around who influence him/her in any
way. Reference groups comprise of people that individuals compare
themselves with. Every individual knows some people in the society who
become their idols in due course of time.
Co workers, family members, relatives, neighbours, friends, seniors at
workplace often form reference groups.
Reference groups are generally of two types:
Primary Group - consists of individuals one interacts with on a regular
basis.
a.Primary groups include:
Friends
Family Members
Relatives
Co Workers
All the above influence the buying decisions of consumers due to
following reasons:
They have used the product or brand earlier.
They know what the product is all about. They have complete
knowledge about the features and specifications of the product.
Tim wanted to purchase a laptop for himself. He went to the nearby
store and purchased a Dell Laptop
. The reason why he purchased a Dell Laptop was because all his friends
were using the same model and were quite satisfied with the product. We
tend to pick up products our friends recommend.
A married individual would show strong inclination towards buying
products which would benefit not only him but also his family
members as compared to a bachelor. Family plays an important role
in influencing the buying decisions of individuals.
A consumer who has a wife and child at home would buy for them
rather than spending on himself. An individual entering into marriage
would be more interested in buying a house, car, household items,
furniture and so on. When an individual gets married and starts a
family, most of his buying decisions are taken by the entire family.
Every individual goes through the following stages and shows a
different buying need in each stage:
Bachelorhood: Purchases Alcohol, Beer, Bike, Mobile Handsets
(Spends Lavishly)
Newly Married: Tend to purchase a new house, car, household
furnishings. (Spends sensibly)
Family with Children: Purchases products to secure his as well as
his family’s future.
Empty nest (Children getting married)/Retirement/Old
Age: Medicines, Health Products, and Necessary Items.
 A Ford Car in the neighbourhood would prompt three more families to
buy the same model.
b.Secondary Groups - Secondary groups share indirect relationship with the
consumer. These groups are more formal and individuals do not interact with
them on a regular basis, Example - Religious Associations, Political Parties,
Clubs etc.
2. Role in the Society
Each individual plays a dual role in the society depending on the group he
belongs to. An individual working as Chief Executive Officer with a reputed
firm is also someone’s husband and father at home. The buying tendency of
individuals depends on the role he plays in the society.
3. Social Status
An individual from an 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.
 Q2. Outline the types of physical factors companies try to affect
and how they go for it

The physical environment is a vital component of the business

environment in which you intend to operate or in which you already run
your business irrespective of whether it’s conventional or online, small
or big. It refers to the availability of resources that you need to run
your business efficiently. These resources may generally include among
other inputs like materials, services, land, climate, water, physical
plants and facilities. Every business needs these resources to get
started or to have its work done efficiently and effectively.
Your physical environment comprises of both natural and human-
made resources. Features like land, water, climate, wildlife and
vegetation are natural components of the physical environment in
which we live and operate our businesses. On the other hand, dams,
roads, premises and much more are human-made resources that
affect your business.
The physical environment may also refer to the physical location, space
and any other thing that physically impacts on you and your business.
For instance, light, temperature and distractions in your office can affect
your performance. If you are working in an office with little light, it can
make you get stressed up. If it’s scorching in your workplace, it can
make you get so tired that you find it difficult to work comfortably and
effectively. What about a noisy and polluted place? What effect can it
have on your health and your business? Think about it!
Q3. What Social Situations have you been in that affected what
you purchased?

Time
The time of day, time of year, and how much time consumers feel like
they have to shop affect what they buy. Researchers have even
discovered whether someone is a “morning person” or “evening person”
affects shopping patterns. Have you ever gone to the grocery store when
you are hungry or after pay day when you have cash in your pocket?
When you are hungry or have cash, you may purchase more than you
would at other times. Seven-Eleven Japan is a company that’s extremely
in tune to time and how it affects buyers. The company’s point-of-sale
systems at its checkout counters monitor what is selling well and when,
and stores are restocked with those items immediately—sometimes via
motorcycle deliveries that zip in and out of traffic along Japan’s
crowded streets. The goal is to get the products on the shelves when and
where consumers want them. Seven-Eleven Japan also knows that, like
Americans, its customers are “time starved.” Shoppers can pay their
utility bills, local taxes, and insurance or pension premiums at Seven-
Eleven Japan stores, and even make photocopies (Bird, 2002).
Companies worldwide are aware of people’s lack of time and are
finding ways to accommodate them. Some doctors’ offices offer drive-
through shots for patients who are in a hurry and for elderly patients who
find it difficult to get out of their cars. Tickets.com allows companies to sell
tickets by sending them to customers’ mobile phones when they call in.
The
phones’ displays are then read by barcode scanners when the ticket
purchasers arrive at the events they’re attending. Likewise, if you need
customer service from Amazon.com, there’s no need to wait on the
telephone. If you have an account with Amazon, you just click a button
on the company’s Web site and an Amazon representative calls you
immediately.
Reason for the Purchase
The reason you are shopping also affects the amount of time you will
spend shopping. Are you making an emergency purchase? What if you
need something for an important dinner or a project and only have an
hour to get everything? Are you shopping for a gift or for a special
occasion? Are you buying something to complete a task/project and
need it quickly? In recent years, emergency clinics have sprung up in strip
malls all over the country. Convenience is one reason. The other is sheer
necessity. If you cut yourself and you are bleeding badly, you’re probably
not going to shop around much to find the best clinic. You will go to the
one that’s closest to you. The same thing may happen if you need
something immediately.
Purchasing a gift might not be an emergency situation, but you might not
want to spend much time shopping for it either. Gift certificates have
been popular for years. You can purchase gift cards for numerous
merchants at your local grocery store or online. By contrast, suppose you
need to buy an engagement ring. Sure, you could buy one online in a
jiffy, but you probably wouldn’t do that. What if the diamond was fake?
What if your significant other turned you down and you had to return the
ring? How hard would it be to get back online and return the ring? (Hornik
& Miniero, 2009)

Mood
Have you ever felt like going on a shopping spree? At other times wild
horses couldn’t drag you to a mall. People’s moods temporarily affect
their spending patterns. Some people enjoy shopping. It’s entertaining for
them. At the extreme are compulsive spenders who get a temporary
“high” from spending. A sour mood can spoil a consumer’s desire to
shop. The crash of the U.S. stock market in 2008 left many people
feeling poorer, leading to a dramatic downturn in consumer spending.
Penny pinching came into vogue, and conspicuous spending was out.
Costco and Walmart experienced heightened sales of their low-cost
Kirkland Signature and Great Value brands as consumers scrimped.
Saks Fifth Avenue wasn’t so lucky. Its annual release of spring fashions
usually leads to a feeding frenzy among shoppers, but spring 2009 was
different. “We’ve definitely seen a drop-off of this idea of shopping for
entertainment,” says Kimberly Grabel, Saks Fifth Avenue’s senior vice
president of marketing (Rosenbloom, 2009). To get buyers in the
shopping mood, companies resorted to different measures. The upscale
retailer Neiman Marcus began introducing more mid-priced brands. By
studying customer’s loyalty cards, the French hypermarket Carrefour
hoped to find ways to get its customers to purchase nonfood items that
have higher profit margins.
The glum mood wasn’t bad for all businesses though. Discounters like
Half-Priced books saw their sales surge. So did seed sellers as people
began planting their own gardens. Finally, what about those products
(Aqua Globes, Snuggies, and Ped Eggs) you see being hawked on
television? Their sales were the best ever. Apparently, consumers too
broke to go on vacation or shop at Saks were instead watching
television and treating themselves to the products (Ward, 2009).
Q4. What types of moods and time situations are likely to affect
people’s buying behavior?

Have you ever felt like going on a shopping spree? At other times wild
horses couldn’t drag you to a mall. People’s moods temporarily affect
their spending patterns. Some people enjoy shopping. It’s entertaining
for them. At the extreme are compulsive spenders who get a temporary
“high” from spending. A sour mood can spoil a consumer’s desire to
shop. The crash of the U.S. stock market in 2008 left many people
feeling poorer, leading to a dramatic downturn in consumer spending.
Penny pinching came into vogue, and conspicuous spending was out.
Costco and Walmart experienced heightened sales of their low-cost
Kirkland Signature and Great Value brands as consumers scrimped. Saks
Fifth Avenue wasn’t so lucky. Its annual release of spring fashions
usually leads to a feeding frenzy among shoppers, but spring 2009 was
different.
“We’ve definitely seen a drop-off of this idea of shopping for
entertainment,” says Kimberly Grabel, Saks Fifth Avenue’s senior vice
president of marketing (Rosenbloom, 2009). To get buyers in the
shopping mood, companies resorted to different measures. The
upscale retailer Neiman Marcus began introducing more mid-priced
brands. By studying customer’s loyalty cards, the French
hypermarket Carrefour hoped to find ways to get its customers to
purchase nonfood items that have higher profit margins.
The glum mood wasn’t bad for all businesses though. Discounters
like Half-Priced books saw their sales surge. So did seed sellers as
people began planting their own gardens. Finally, what about those
products (Aqua Globes, Snuggies, and Ped Eggs) you see being
hawked on television? Their sales were the best ever. Apparently,
consumers too broke to go on vacation or shop at Saks were instead
watching television and treating themselves to the products (Ward,
2009).