Impact of Advertisements on Consumers

Buying Behavior

Nikshep T A (PNR: 21060242050)

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ABSTRACT:

This study mainly focuses on the impact of advertisements on consumers' buying behavior.
The specific objectives of the study are to investigate the medium through which consumers
discover a new product in the market, the factors which influence the consumers' buying
behavior, study the kind of advertisements consumers like/get convinced by, explore the
medium of advertisements that has the most significant influence on consumers' buying
behavior. The impact of the variables is analyzed using Chi-square (𝜒2) and graphically.

The study result shows that consumers get to know about a new product in the market mainly
through Advertisements; the most important factors that influence the purchase decision are
affected by self and influenced by advertisements; there is significant association between the
kinds of ads that consumers like/get convinced by and the gender of the consumer, results also
reveals that consumers like/get convinced by advertisements from trustworthy brands; Online
advertising platform has the most significant influence on consumers buying decisions. This
study represents a novel attempt to understand the importance of advertisement in marketing a
new product and the impact of types and kinds of ads on consumers' buying behavior as most
of the previously conducted studies are old and outdated.

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INTRODUCTION:

Today's organizations aim to survive or win the competition by engaging various audiences in
this turbulent business environment by effectively advertising consumer preferences and
behavior. The use of advertisements has significantly increased in the 21st century since the
role of advertising in helping organizations inform and influence the general public to buy a
product or service cannot be underestimated.

Advertising is defined as "any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas,
goods, and services by an identified sponsor," according to Kotler et al. (2014). Organizations
use numerous advertising methods to generate awareness in the minds of potential buyers in
order to influence purchasing behaviour. Most organizations aim to reach out to appropriate
customers and influence their attitudes, awareness and buying behavior towards the product.

According to Cohen's definition, advertising satisfies three objectives; to increase sales of the
firms, guarantee consumers plenty of services, and finally ensure the social and economic
welfare of society. Advertising can be done through various media such as; radio and
television, billboards, magazines, newspapers, and websites. (Cohen, 1988)

Customer behavior incorporates what they purchase, why they get it, when they get it, where
they get it, how regularly they get it, how frequently they use it, how to assess it after the buy,
and how they discard it. Consumer behavior is the behavior of individuals regarding acquiring,
using, and disposing of products, services, ideas, or experiences (Loudon, 1988).

Other factors which influence the taste and preferences of consumers for good are the
psychological and environmental factors. A person's taste and preferences can change over
time. Thus, advertisements play an important role in influencing the taste and preference of
consumers' choices. Consumers always want to maximize their satisfaction when it comes to
consumer goods and is known to be rational regarding their purchases.

Without advertising, consumers may not know about the product and its capability to fulfill
their necessities and wants. For most businesses, advertising has become a means of surviving
and gaining market share. As previously stated, advertising influences products, which are
believed to have an inherent quality unknown at the time of purchase. Therefore, this research
aims to find out the role of advertising in consumers' buying behavior.

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OBJECTIVES:

The main objective of the study is to understand the impact of advertisements on consumer
buying behavior. The specific objectives of the study are to;

1) To study the medium through which consumers discover a new product in the market.
2) To study the factors which influence the consumers' buying behavior.
3) To study the kind of advertisements consumers like/get convinced by.
4) To study the medium of advertisements that has the greatest influence on consumers'
buying behavior.

LITERATURE REVIEW:

The study of consumer purchasing behavior focuses on spending important resources (time,
money, and effort) on consumption-related things. This includes what people buy, why they
buy it, when and where they buy it, how often they buy it, how often they use it, how to evaluate
it after purchase, the implications of such review in the future, and how they dispose of it.

According to George et al. (2001), Consumer behavior is defined as the "process and behaviors
people engage in when searching for, selecting, acquiring, using, assessing, and disposing of
items and services in order to meet their needs and preferences." Purchases can sometimes be
a lengthy process, including substantial information gathering, comparisons, and evaluation.
They can be unintentional and impulsive; for example, a prominently displayed discount price
or offer in a store can lead to an impulsive purchase. Marketers must understand the unique
needs that customers strive to meet and how this converts into a purchase.

Consumers search for information to make decisions, and the source of information might be
internal (previous outcomes recorded in memory) or external (public databases) (peers,
advertising, marketing display media). Perception is how an individual receives, selects,
organizes, and interprets information to generate a meaningful picture of the world. Selective
exposure, selective attention, comprehension, and recall are all part of the perceptual process.
As a result, the effectiveness of an advertising campaign can have a significant impact on the
perception process. Radakovic (2014)

Here are some reviews of some empirical literature related to my study:

Ayanwale et al. (2005) investigated the impact of advertising on consumers' brand preferences
in various areas. The results revealed that out of five different media used in advertising
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Bournvita and how consumers viewed them in order of preference, most consumers prefer
television advertising, with newspaper and magazine sharing 4.44 percent.

“Measuring magazine advertising effectiveness and synergies” was the subject of a study by
Havlena et al. (2007). According to the findings of a study, each medium advertising
contribution to awareness, branding, and purchase consideration is described. The study's
conclusions provide a better understanding of how to boost branding metrics and how to
increase advertising exposure in the media. The relative cost efficiencies achieved by the cross-
platform campaign were then added into the study to determine the relative cost efficiencies
created by the cross-platform campaign. When employed gradually, the results revealed that
magazines have a bigger influence on purchase intent than television advertising.

Furthermore, Bamfo & Abeeku (2011) analyzed "Advertising Likeability and Its
Effectiveness." they emphasized the conscious processing of advertisement information. The
study identified the factors that attract the customer's interest. The findings were that some
factors, which are celebrities, humor, information, music, were influential in attracting
customers. The researcher has given more emphasis on the medium and language used in
advertising.

Most of the studies mentioned above are comparatively old and outdated. In the present
scenario, when the technology is much advanced compared to 10-15 years back, there is a need
to study the factors influencing consumer behavior and the impacts of the various mediums of
advertisements on consumer behavior.

METHODOLOGY:

The study is analyzed with the help of both primary and secondary data. A total of 79 people,
both men and women under the age of 25 took part in the survey. Of the respondents, 51.9%
were male (41) and 48.1% were female (38). Answers of these respondents were analyzed, and
results were generated through SPSS (Statistics 28).

This study is based on quantitative research, and the survey was conducted using a
questionnaire. I’ve conducted two studies to test the hypothesis in this study, each with different
endorsers and factors. Two more studies are analyzed with the help of a bar graph and a pie
chart. In study 1, with the help of Bar graph, we analyze the factors by which consumers will

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get to know about a new product in the market. In study 2, to test the null hypothesis (H1), the
factors advertisements, family members, Peers, self, and point of sale as independent factors
while purchasing decision is taken as a dependent factor, responses of these factors are
collected based on gender. After that, the responses are analyzed by using the tool Chi-square
(𝜒2). In study 3, we test the null hypothesis (H2) to analyze what kind of advertisement
consumers like and get convinced by. Factors Informative, from trustworthy brands,
Appealing, and advertised by a favorite celebrity is taken as independent factors and purchasing
decision as a dependent factor, responses of these factors are collected based on gender. As
only categorical data is used in this research, Chi-square (𝜒2) has been used to analyze the data.
A pie chart is used to analyze Study 4 about the medium of advertisements that influences
consumers the most.

This study was conducted to determine how important advertisements are for a consumer to
learn about a new product, whether advertisements impact consumer purchasing behavior,
which types of advertisements have the most influence on consumers, and which types of
advertisements have the most influence on consumers.

We hypothesize the following for studies 2 and 3,

Study 2:
H1: There is significant difference of influencing factors in purchase decisions within the
gender.

Study 3:

H2: There is significant association between the kinds of advertisements that consumers
like/get convinced by and the gender of the consumer.

Chi-Square Test for Independent of Attributes:

The chi-square test of independence is used to determine a significant relationship between two
nominal variables—For one nominal variable, the frequency of each group. The null hypothesis
for this test is that the two qualities have no relationship.

Diagrammatic and Graphics Presentation:

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The various diagrammatic and geographical representations used are pie charts and simple bar
diagrams. In pie charts, the circle may be divided into various sections segments representing
a certain proportion or percentage of the various parts of the total. A simple bar diagram is the
simplest of the bar diagrams and is frequently in practice for the comparative study of two or
more items or values for a single classification or category of data. The properly constructed
graphs and diagrams readily show information that might otherwise be lost amid the details of
numerical tabulations. They highlight the salient features of collected data, facilitate
comparison among two or more data sets, and enable us to study the relationships between
them more readily.

RESULTS:
Study 1:

The medium through which consumers discover a new product

Cumulative
Frequency Percent Valid Percent Percent
Valid Advertisements 37 46.8 46.8 46.8
Family/Friends 8 10.1 10.1 57.0
Shopping in person 2 2.5 2.5 59.5
Social Media 27 34.2 34.2 93.7
Through Websites 5 6.3 6.3 100.0
Total 79 100.0 100.0

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The study observed that advertisement is the medium by which most respondents discover a
new product in the market. The graphical figure above depicts the majority of respondents, 37
(46.8%), stating that advertisement is the medium through which they know about a new
product in the market. About 27 (34.2%) respondents stated social media, 8 (10.1%) stated
Family/Friends, 5 (6.3%) responded through websites, and only 2 (2.5%) stated by Shopping
in person. The study revealed that advertisement and social media have the most impact on a
consumer for discovering a new product in the market.

Study 2:

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The data output reveals that the null hypothesis(H1) is accepted (at α = 0.05); hence we accept
that there is a significant difference of influencing factors in purchase decision within the
gender.

From the above study, it has been revealed that out of 79 respondents, 20 (25.3%) respondents
are influenced by self, and 19 (24%) respondents are influenced by Advertisement, 15(18.9%)
respondents are influenced by their family members, the point of sale influences 14(17.7%)
respondents, and peers influence 11(13.9%) respondents. This study reveals that most of the
respondents are either influenced by self or advertisements. This study reveals the importance
of advertisements and their impact on consumers' buying behavior.

Study 3:

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The output of the data reveals that the null hypothesis(H1) is accepted (at α = 0.05); hence we
accept that there is significant association between the kinds of advertisement that consumers
like/get convinced by and the gender of the consumer.

From the above data, it is revealed that out of 79 respondents, 32 (40.5%) of the respondents
like/get convinced by advertisements from trustworthy brands, 19(24%) of the respondents get
convinced by appealing advertisements, 15(18.9%) of respondents like/get convinced by

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informative advertisements, 13(16.45%) of respondents like the advertisements which are
advertised by their favourite celebrities.

This study reveals that most of the consumers like/get convinced by the advertisements from
trustworthy brands.

Study 4:

Count of Which medium of advertisement influence the

most on consumers buying behavior?

6 Film Advertising(ads in cinema

3 houses during intervals)
18
News papers and Magazines

Online Advertising

5 Outdoor Advertising

4 Sales promotion and Personal

selling
43 Television Advertising

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From the above study, it is revealed that out of 79 respondents, about 40(50.6%) respondents
stated Online Advertising, 19(24.1%) respondents stated Television Advertising, 7(8.9%)
respondents stated Film advertising, 5(6.3%) respondents stated sales promotion and personal
selling, and only 4(5.1%) respondents stated 'Newspapers and magazines' and 'Outdoor
Advertising.'

This study reveals that the medium that has the greatest influence on consumer buying behavior
is Online advertising, and the second is television advertising.

CONCLUSION:

The impact of advertisement on consumers behavior was examined in this study.

Questionnaires were created by using google forms and sent to people, from which 79 people
responded. This study was conducted to determine how important advertisements are for a
consumer to discover a new product, whether advertisements impact consumer purchasing
behavior, which types of advertisements have the most influence on consumers, and which
types of advertisements have the most influence on consumers. The study had a fair
representation of male and female respondents, with 41(51.9%) male and 38(48.1%) female
respondents.

Study 1 reveals that consumers get to know about a new product in the market mostly through
Advertisements and secondly through social media. Based on this study, we conclude that not
many respondents discover new products through Family/Friends, websites, or shopping in
person.

Study 2 reveals that the most important factors that influence the purchase decision are
influenced by self and influenced by advertisements. From the study, we accept that there is a
significant difference in influencing factors in purchase decisions within the gender.

In study 3, we accept there is significant association between the kinds of advertisements that
consumers like/get convinced by and the gender of the consumer. And from the study, it is
observed that consumers like/get convinced by the advertisements of trustworthy brands when
compared to advertisements that are informative, appealing, and advertised by favorite
celebrities.

In study 4 we conclude that Online advertising platform has the greatest influence on
consumers buying decisions. Even though previous studies in this field showed that television

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advertising had the greatest influences, technological advancement has taken Online or Digital
advertising over television advertising. If current trends continue, television advertisements
will account for less than a third of total advertising budgets in a few years.

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