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 2 ND
ASIA–PACIFIC
EDITION

CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR

HOYER
MACINNIS
PIETERS
CHAN
NORTHEY
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 SECOND ASIA–PACIFIC EDITION

Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 To my parents for their love; to my students and colleagues for always teaching me new things; and to my friends
from every part of the globe for their diverse perspectives.
Eugene Chan

To my mother and father for their lifelong guidance and support. To Emily, Lachlan and Emmett for challenging me
to be a better human every day!
Gavin Northey

Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 2 ND
ASIA–PACIFIC
EDITION

CONSUMER
BEHAVIOUR

HOYER
MACINNIS
PIETERS
CHAN
NORTHEY
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
Consumer Behaviour © 2021 Cengage Learning Australia Pty Limited
2nd Asia–Pacific Edition
Wayne D. Hoyer Copyright Notice
Deborah J. MacInnis This Work is copyright. No part of this Work may be reproduced, stored in a
Rik Pieters retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior
Eugene Chan written permission of the Publisher. Except as permitted under the
Gavin Northey Copyright Act 1968, for example any fair dealing for the purposes of private study,
research, criticism or review, subject to certain limitations. These limitations
include: Restricting the copying to a maximum of one chapter or 10% of this
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National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Adaptation of Consumer Behavior 7e by Hoyer/MacInnis/Pieters, Cengage, ISBN: 9780170439978
2018. ISBN: 9781305507272 A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of
Australia.
This second edition published in 2021
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 BRIEF CONTENTS
GUIDE TO THE TEXT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
GUIDE TO THE ONLINE RESOURCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
ABOUT THE AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

PA R T O N E | A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O U R
Chapter 1 Understanding consumer behaviour 3

APPENDIX: CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR 29

PA R T T W O | T H E P S Y C H O L O G I C A L C O R E
Chapter 2 Motivation, ability and opportunity 45
Chapter 3 From exposure to comprehension 73
Chapter 4 Memory and knowledge 103
Chapter 5 Attitudes and persuasion 131

PA R T T H R E E | T H E P R O C E S S O F M A K I N G D E C I S I O N S
Chapter 6 Problem recognition and information search 161
Chapter 7 Judgement and decision making 187
Chapter 8 Post-decision processes 217

PA R T F O U R | T H E C O N S U M E R ’ S C U LT U R E
Chapter 9 Social influences on consumer behaviour 241
Chapter 10 Consumer diversity 275
Chapter 11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour 305

PA R T F I V E | C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O U R O U T C O M E S A N D I S S U E S
Chapter 12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion 337
Chapter 13 Symbolic consumer behaviour 367
Chapter 14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s consumer society 401

GLOSSARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
v
 CONTENTS
GUIDE TO THE TEXT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii
GUIDE TO THE ONLINE RESOURCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiv
PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvi
ABOUT THE AUTHORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxi

PA R T O N E | A N I N T R O D U C T I O N T O C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O U R
CHAPTER 1 Understanding consumer behaviour 3
Opening vignette Toby’s Estate: more than coffee 3 APPENDIX: CONDUCTING RESEARCH IN CONSUMER
Defining consumer behaviour 4 BEHAVIOUR 29
Consumer behaviour involves goods, services, Consumer behaviour research methods 29
activities, experiences, people and ideas 4 Surveys 30
Consumer behaviour can involve many people 6 Focus groups 31
Consumer behaviour involves many decisions 6 Interviews 31
Consumer behaviour involves emotions and coping 11 Storytelling 32
What affects consumer behaviour? 11 Photography and pictures 32
The psychological core: internal consumer processes 12 Diaries 32
The process of making decisions 12 Experiments 33
The consumer’s culture: external processes 13 Field experiments 34
Consumer behaviour outcomes and issues 14 Conjoint analysis 34
Who benefits from studying consumer behaviour? 15 Observations and ethnographic research 34
Marketing managers 15 Purchase panels 34
Public policymakers and regulators 16 Database marketing 35
Consumers and society 16 Netnography 35
Psychophysiological reactions and neuroscience 36
Marketing implications of consumer behaviour 16
Developing and implementing customer-oriented Types of consumer researchers 36
strategy 16 In-house marketing research departments 36
Selecting the target market 17 External marketing research firms 37
Developing products 17 Advertising agencies and media planning firms 37
Positioning 18 Syndicated data services 38
Making promotion and marketing communications Retailers 38
decisions 19 Research foundations and trade groups 39
Making pricing decisions 20 Government 39
Making distribution decisions 21 Academics and academic research centres 39
Summary 23 Ethical issues in consumer research 39
Reflection: Toby’s Estate 24 The positive aspects of consumer research 39
The negative aspects of consumer research 40
Questions for review and discussion 24
Summary 42
Consumer behaviour case How Unilever’s brands
connect with consumers 24 Endnotes 42
Endnotes 25

PA R T T W O | T H E P S Y C H O L O G I C A L C O R E
CHAPTER 2 Motivation, ability and opportunity 45
Opening vignette Dinner and a movie at the cineplex 45 Social and cultural resources 62
Resources are interchangeable 62
Consumer motivation and its effects 46
What affects motivation? 46 Consumer opportunity 63
Personal relevance 46 Time 63
Values 48 Distraction 64
Needs 48 Complexity, amount, repetition and control of
Involvement 53 information 65
Goals 55 Summary 66
Self-discrepancy 58 Reflection: Dinner and a movie at the cineplex 67
Consumer ability: resources to act 60 Questions for review and discussion 67
Financial resources 61
Consumer behaviour case Fitbit: the perfect fit
Cognitive resources 61
for consumer motivation 67
Emotional resources 61
Physical resources 61 Endnotes 68

vi Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 C on t en t s

CHAPTER 3 From exposure to comprehension 73

Opening vignette Is it real? Greenpeace’s ‘Dead Whale’ Cross-modal perception: a joining of the senses 83
campaign73 When do we perceive stimuli? 85
How do consumers perceive a stimulus? 87
Exposure and consumer behaviour 74
Factors influencing exposure 74 Comprehension and consumer behaviour 88
Selective exposure 75 Source identification 89
Message comprehension 89
Attention and consumer behaviour 77
Consumer inferences 91
Characteristics of attention 77
Focal and non-focal attention 77 Summary 94
Customer segments defined by attention 80 Reflection: Is it real? 95
Habituation 81 Questions for review and discussion 95
Perception and consumer behaviour 81 Consumer behaviour case How Under Armour
Perceiving through vision 81 gets noticed 95
Perceiving through hearing 82
Endnotes 96
Perceiving through taste 82
Perceiving through smell 82
Perceiving through touch 83

CHAPTER 4 Memory and knowledge 103

Opening vignette A biography of Chesty Bond 103 Memory and retrieval 119
Different types of memory 104 Retrieval failures 119
Sensory memory 104 Enhancing retrieval 120
Working memory 104 Summary 124
Long-term memory 105 Reflection: A biography of Chesty Bond 125
Explicit and implicit memory 107
Questions for review and discussion 125
Knowledge content, structure and flexibility 107
Consumer behaviour case The rebranding of
Associative networks, schemata and scripts 108
Virgin Australia 125
Knowledge categories 114
Knowledge flexibility 118 Endnotes 126
Why consumers differ in knowledge content
and structure 118

CHAPTER 5 Attitudes and persuasion 131

Opening vignette Prestige watches have timeless appeal 131 Theory of reasoned action 142
How cognitively based attitudes are influenced 145
What are attitudes? 132
The structure of attitudes 132 Changing attitudes: the role of motivation, ability
The functions of attitudes 134 and opportunity 149
The characteristics of attitudes 134 When do attitudes predict behaviour? 150
The affective (emotional) foundations of attitudes 135 Summary 152
How affectively based attitudes are influenced 136 Reflection: Prestige watches have timeless appeal 153
The cognitive foundations of attitudes 141 Questions for review and discussion 153
Direct or imagined experience 142
Consumer behaviour case Non-smoking becomes
Reasoning by analogy or category 142
top priority in Australia and worldwide 153
Values-driven attitudes 142
Social identity–based attitude generation 142 Endnotes 154
Expectancy-value models 142

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vii
 Con t en t s

PA R T T H R E E | T H E P R O C E S S O F M A K I N G D E C I S I O N S
CHAPTER 6 Problem recognition and information search 161
Opening vignette Quick response codes for quick How do we engage in an external search? 174
information 161 How much do we engage in information search? 175
Problem recognition 162 Motivation to process information 175
Different types of problems 164 Ability to process information 177
From problem recognition to information search 164 Opportunity to process information 178
Internal search: searching for information from Summary 180
memory 164 Reflection: Quick response codes for quick
What kind of information is retrieved from an information 181
internal search? 164
Questions for review and discussion 181
External search: searching for information from
Consumer behaviour case Searching for a
the environment 169
search engine 181
Where can we search for information? 170
What kind of information is acquired in an Endnotes 182
external search? 173

CHAPTER 7 Judgement and decision making 187

Opening vignette A simple shop at the supermarket 187 Brand loyalty 203
Brand familiarity 203
Distinguishing judgement from decisions 188
Price-related tactics 203
Judgements about likelihood 188
Variety seeking 203
Judgements about goodness/badness 189
Buying on impulse 204
Factors that influence judgement and decision
processes 190 Individual differences in judgements and
Biases and heuristics in the judgement processes 190
decision making 205
Consumer characteristics 205
Biases in decision processes 193
Characteristics of the decision 206
Making decisions 195
Making thought-based decisions 195
Summary 208
Making feeling-based decisions 198 Reflection: A simple shop at the supermarket 210
Consumer learning 201 Questions for review and discussion 210
Classical conditioning 201 Consumer behaviour case Harley-Davidson
Operant conditioning 202 wheels into India 210
Low-effort judgement and decision-making processes 202 Endnotes 211
Consumer habit 202

CHAPTER 8 Post-decision processes 217

Opening vignette Companies go social for improved Post-decision dissonance and regret 226
customer service 217 Dissonance 226
Understanding satisfaction and dissatisfaction Regret 226
judgements218 Closure 227
The importance of customer satisfaction 219 Disposition 228
The role of expectations: the disconfirmation Disposing of meaningful objects 229
paradigm 219 Recycling 231
Theories of consumer satisfaction 221 Summary 233
Attribution theory 221 Reflection: Companies go social for improved
Equity theory 222 customer service 234
Responses to dissatisfaction 223 Questions for review and discussion 234
Complaints 223
Responding by negative word of mouth 224
Consumer behaviour case Uber: turning
satisfaction into a two-way street 235
Is customer satisfaction enough? 225
Endnotes 236

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 C on t en t s

PA R T F O U R | T H E C O N S U M E R ’ S C U LT U R E
CHAPTER 9 Social influences on consumer behaviour 241
Opening vignette The worldwide phenomenon of Summary 266
Pokémon Go 241 Reflection: The worldwide phenomenon of
Sources of influence 242 Pokémon Go 266
General sources of influence 243 Questions for review and discussion 267
A special source of influence: opinion leaders 246
Consumer behaviour case Celebrity endorsements
Reference group sources of influence 247
go social 267
Types of influence 255
Endnotes 268
Normative influence 255
Informational influence 261

CHAPTER 10 Consumer diversity 275

Opening vignette Serving shrimp burgers in Beijing How regional influences affect consumer behaviour 287
and potato tacos in Bangalore 275 Regions within Australia 287
How age affects consumer behaviour 276 Regions across the world 289
Age trends in Australia 276 How ethnic influences affect consumer behaviour 290
Teens 277 Ethnic groups within Australia 290
Generation Z 279 Ethnic groups around the world 292
Millennials 279 The influence of religion 294
Generation X 280
Summary 296
Baby boomers 281
Seniors 282 Reflection: Serving shrimp burgers in Beijing
and potato tacos in Bangalore 297
How gender and sexuality affect consumer
behaviour 284 Questions for review and discussion 297
Sex roles 284 Consumer behaviour case Marketing to teens
Differences in acquisition and consumption behaviours 285 worldwide via music 298
Sex, gender and sexual orientation 287 Endnotes 299

CHAPTER 11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour 305

Opening vignette Reaching rural customers in Personality 322
emerging markets 305 Research approaches to personality 322
Determining how personality characteristics affect
External influences on consumer behaviour 306
consumer behaviour 324
Social class 306
Lifestyles 326
How social class is determined 307
How social class changes over time 308 Summary 329
How does social class affect consumption? 310 Reflection: Reaching rural customers in emerging
The consumption patterns of specific social classes 310 markets 330
Household influences on consumer behaviour 313 Questions for review and discussion 330
Changing trends in household structure 314
Consumer behaviour case IKEA’S household appeal 330
Roles that household members play 316
Endnotes 332
Internal influences on consumer behaviour 318
Values 318
Influences on values 320

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ix
Con t en t s

PA R T F I V E | C O N S U M E R B E H AV I O U R O U T C O M E S A N D I S S U E S
CHAPTER 12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion 337
Opening vignette Will consumers pay with their phones? 337 Influences on adoption, resistance and diffusion 351
Innovations 338 Characteristics of the innovation 351
Defining an innovation 338 Uncertainty 353
Innovations and co-creation 340 Consumer learning requirements 353
Legitimacy and adaptability 358
Resistance vs adoption 342
Characteristics of the social system 359
Whether consumers adopt an innovation 342
How consumers adopt an innovation 342 Summary 360
When consumers adopt innovations 344 Reflection: Will consumers pay with their phones? 361
Diffusion 348 Questions for review and discussion 361
How offerings diffuse through a market 348 Consumer behaviour case RedBalloon:
Factors affecting the shape of the diffusion curve 350 revolutionising digital marketing with artificial
How diffusion relates to the product life cycle 350 intelligence 362
Endnotes 363

CHAPTER 13 Symbolic consumer behaviour 367

Opening vignette Spin it again: the vinyl LP is back 367 The characteristics that describe special possessions 382
Why some products are special 383
Sources and functions of symbolic meaning 368
Consumer characteristics affect what is special 384
Meaning derived from culture 368
Rituals used with special possessions 385
Meaning derived from the consumer 370
Disposing of special possessions 385
The emblematic function 370
The role acquisition function 373 Sacred meaning 386
The connectedness function 376 The transfer of symbolic meaning through gift giving 387
The expressiveness function 377 Three stages of gift giving 388
Multiple functions 377 Summary 393
Special possessions and brands 379 Reflection: Spin it again 394
The meaning of money 379
Questions for review and discussion 394
Special brands 380
Brand anthropomorphism 380 Consumer behaviour case Bicycles: more than
Brand relationships 381 pedal power 394
Types of special possessions 381 Endnotes 395

CHAPTER 14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s consumer society 401
Opening vignette Dove Self-Esteem Project: Social responsibility issues in marketing 416
taking body confidence to new heights 401 Environmentally conscious behaviour 416
In search of balance 402 Charitable behaviour 417
Self-interest vs the interests of others 402 Community involvement 418
Immediate vs long-term interests 403 How can consumers resist marketing practices? 419
‘Dark side’ vs ‘bright side’ outcomes 403 Summary 420
Marketing ethics, consumer ethics and deviant Reflection: Dove Self-Esteem Project 420
consumer behaviour 404
Questions for review and discussion 421
Acquisition controversies 404
Consumption controversies 410 Consumer behaviour case The Odd Bunch:
Disposition controversies 415 joining the fight against food waste 421
Endnotes 422

GLOSSARY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426
INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

x Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 Guide to the text
As you read this text you will find a number of features in every
chapter to enhance your study of consumer behaviour and help you
understand how the theory is applied in the real world.

PART- AND CHAPTER-OPENING FEATURES

Understand how key concepts are connected across all parts and chapters by viewing the concept maps.

PART
ONE
PART 2 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CORE

2 Motivation, ability and opportunity

3 From exposure to comprehension
4 Memory and knowledge
5 Attitudes and persuasion

AN INTRODUCTION TO PART 3 THE PROCESS OF MAKING DECISIONS

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
6 Problem recognition and information search
7 Judgement and decision making
8 Post-decision processes

PART 4 THE CONSUMER’S CULTURE

9 Social influences on consumer behaviour

10 Consumer diversity
PART 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR 11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour

1 Understanding consumer behaviour

PART 5 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OUTCOMES AND ISSUES

12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion

PART 2 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CORE
13 Symbolic consumer behaviour
2 Motivation, ability and opportunity 14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s
3 From exposure to comprehension consumer society
4 Memory and knowledge
5 Attitudes and persuasion

PART 3 THE PROCESS OF MAKING DECISIONS

Motivation Ability Opportunity
6 Problem recognition and information search Influenced by: Influenced by: Influenced by:
7 Judgement and decision making • personal relevance (to self-concept, • financial, cognitive, emotional, • time
8 Post-decision processes values, needs, goals and self-control) physical, and social and cultural • distractions
• perceived risk resources
• complexity, amount, repetition
• moderate inconsistency with attitudes • education and age
and control of information
PART 4 THE CONSUMER’S CULTURE

9 Social influences on consumer behaviour

10 Consumer diversity
• high-effort behaviour
11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour
• high-effort information processing and decision making
• felt involvement
PART 5 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OUTCOMES AND ISSUES

12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion

13 Symbolic consumer behaviour
14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s
consumer society

FIGURE 2.1 » CHAPTER OVERVIEW: MOTIVATION, ABILITY AND OPPORTUNITY

CHAPTER In Part 1, you will learn that consumer behaviour involves much more than purchasing
products. In addition, you will find out that marketers continuously study consumer Motivation, ability and opportunity (MAO) to engage in various consumer behaviours are affected by many factors. Outcomes of high MAO include: (1) goal-
Understanding consumer relevant behaviour, (2) high-effort information processing and decision making, and (3) felt involvement.
behaviour for clues as to who buys, uses and disposes of what goods and services, as
1 behaviour 3 well as clues as to when, where, why and how they make decisions.
Appendix: Conducting Chapter 1 defines consumer behaviour and examines its importance to marketers,
research in consumer

CHAPTER-OPENING FEATURES
advocacy groups, public policymakers and consumers. The chapter also presents
behaviour 29
the overall model that guides the organisation of this book. As this model indicates,
consumer behaviour covers four basic domains: (1) the psychological core, (2) the
process of making decisions, (3) the consumer’s culture, and (4) consumer behaviour
outcomes and issues. In addition, you will read about the implications of consumer BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp02.indd 44 11/06/20 5:01 PM

behaviour for marketing activities.

2
1

BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp01.indd 1 10/06/20 9:46 PM Motivation, ability and

opportunity
Identify the key concepts that the chapter will cover LEARNING OBJECTIVES

with the learning objectives at the start of each AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:

chapter. LO1 discuss the six types of influences that affect the consumer’s motivation to process information, make a
decision or take an action
LO2 explain how financial, cognitive, emotional, physical, social and cultural resources, plus age and education, can
affect the individual’s ability to engage in consumer behaviours
LO3 consider how the availability of time, distraction, complexity and control of information can affect consumers’
opportunity to engage in consumer behaviours.

Gain an insight into how consumer behaviour

Dinner and a movie at the cineplex
theories relate to the real world through the Dinner and a movie? Yes – together! Going to the movies customers in auditorium seats and away from home

chapter-opening vignette at the beginning of each 46 P A RT isn’t

TWOlike> Twhat it used to
HE PSYCHOL be.
OGI CAPreviously,
L COR E it was just a cinema:
you went into the auditorium, grabbed your seat, enjoyed
buy products and services. Having drinks and food delivered
a flick, maybe with a tub of popcorn, and then headed
chapter. to their seats while they are watching the latest Hollywood flick
home afterwards. But today, cinemas aren’t just cinemas –
is all part of the experience that consumers cannot reproduce
they are complete entertainment centres that focus on
anywhere else. At a more fundamental level, selling ‘all-in-one’
‘experience’, and in particular, the ‘experience of luxury’.
experiences for a single price also makes consumers more
Event Cinemas have their Gold Class, while Hoyts Cinemas
able and willing to buy such packages, since they do not need
refer to their luxury product as Lux (see Figure 2.2).
to pay for dinners, drinks and movies separately.
Whatever the branding, they offer the same experience.
R E F L EC T I V EEnjoy
Q U EaSmovie
T I O N in leather or nicely upholstered seats in an
watching TV or streaming movies online.
All of these chains understand that consumers’
Whether motivated consumers actually pursue a
motivation, ability and opportunity exert a powerful
goal depends on whether they have the ability and the
influence on consumers’ acquisition, usage and
opportunity to achieve it. Ability depends on various
disposition decisions. The luxury packages at Events,
categories of resources as well as age and education.
Hoyts and other chains globally allow consumers to
Opportunity is determined by time, distractions and the
attain two goals at the same time (eat and watch). But
complexity, amount, repetition and control of information
the positioning of cinemas as upscale places to watch
to which consumers are exposed.
movies is also consistent with consumers’ motivations to
socialise and ‘consume’ experiences, rather than simply

Test your understanding by answering the

auditorium that fits only 20 seats or so, and you can also
imagefolk/Llu?Real

enjoy margaritas and eat full-course dinners with dessert

➜ How do consumers differ in what they are looking for when it comes to a night out at the movies?
while you are watching the movie – sometimes, the food
reflective question after you read the vignette. and drinks are delivered to your seat!
Such luxury ‘movie and dinner’ experiences have

LO1 CONSUMER MOTIVATION AND ITS EFFECTS

been a growing trend in the cinema industry, not only
in Australia, but also abroad. In the United States,
Motivation Motivation
cinema chains such as comes
Moviefrom the Latin
Tavern, AMCword
and‘movere’,
Regal which means ‘to move’. Motivation is what moves people. It

xii
An inner state of arousal that
Cinemas is
provides the energy needed
defined
offer as ‘an
similar innerpackages.
luxury state of arousal’, with the aroused energy directed to achieving a goal.1 The motivated
Movie Tavern’s
to achieve a goal. CEO saysconsumer
one appeal is energised, readyand
is that ‘dinner andawilling
movieto is engage
a in a goal-relevant activity. For example, simply think of
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
Sydney’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, for which Sydneysiders and tourists queue (and camp!) days in advance,
two-and-a-half hour experience, rather than a four-
as they are
hour experience’ thatmotivated
was the to bring intrend,
previous the new year with spectacular fireworks. Likewise, consumers can also be
where
motivated,
cinemas would suchwith
partner as queuing up days in advance
local restaurants to offerfor the latest smartphone release or for tickets to a concert by
their
discounted favourite
movie musical
tickets with aartist.
mealIn all these and
purchase. many other cases, consumers’ motivations make them ready to
Movie
 306 P A RT F OUR > T HE CON SUME R ’ S CUL T UR E

interest in many topics like beauty, fashion or cosmetics,

GU IDE TO T HE T E X T
Alejandra, regional trainer and Unilever ‘Hero’ points out, the
they had little access to advice or products. With the Shakti program is a way ‘to help low-income women in Colombia
Ammas, locals had a trusted, local source of product who are vulnerable and struggle in conditions of poverty’.4
knowledge ready to help. Not only have there been profound social benefits –
Having been successful in India, Unilever extended the including female empowerment and independence – but
program throughout Asia to countries including Pakistan,
C HAPTER 6 > Prob lem recognition and inform ation search
Unilever now has a network of brand ambassadors who 165
Bangladesh, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Building on this, 2019 can influence village-level demand, delivery and consumer
as a consideration (or evoked) set. For example, someone buying toothpaste might consider Colgate and
saw the launch of Project Shakti in Colombia.
5 As Mayda education.
Consideration
Sensodyne rather than all possible brands. With product proliferation, however, the number of offerings (or evoked) set
R E F L EC T I V E Q U E S T I O N
has increased dramatically. Colgate-Palmolive alone offers more than a dozen toothpaste brands (including The subset of top-of-mind
brands evaluated when
Colgate
➜➜ WhatTotal,effect
Colgate
mightOptic and
social Colgate
class have Sensitive),
had on the aeffectiveness
situation that increases
of Project competition for inclusion in the
Shakti? making a choice.

FEATURES WITHIN CHAPTERS consideration set. 6

In general, the consideration set consists of brands that are ‘top of mind’, or easy to remember, when a
consumer is making a decision. For instance, some Australians fly rather than take the train between Sydney
EXTERNAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
LO1 they do not consider the possibility of train travel. Conversely, in Japan, rail
and Canberra simply because

Definitions of important key terms are located in the companies are now encouraging business consumers to consider taking the train rather than flying between
Social class
major cities by upgrading the train seats and providing lounge services before the train leaves the station.7
Social class hierarchy Most societies have a social class hierarchy that confers higher status to some classes of people than to
A small consideration set is usually necessary because consumers’ ability to recall information about all
margin for quick reference. A full list of key terms is The grouping of members of
the brand
society alternatives
according to status,
others. These social classes consist of identifiable groups of individuals whose behaviours and lifestyles differ
decreases as the size of the set increases. It’s much easier to recall information about
high to low. from those of members of the other classes. Members of a particular social class tend to share similar values and
just three brands than 30. However, even if they do not recall the entire set from memory, stored information
also available in the Glossary, which can be found at Lifestyles
behaviour patterns. Note that social classes are loose collections of individuals with similar life experiences,
aids the recognition process. For example, stored information
not formal groups with a strong identity.5
can help consumers identify brands on the
shelf, with
patternsthe
of information that is retrieved biasing preference for the brand. This is one reason why L’Oréal
the back of the book.
People’s
behaviour. Many societies view these distinctions as important because they recognise that everyone has a role to play
is stepping up advertising in India,
in order wheretoitfunction
for society distributes shampoo
smoothly. and other
However, personal-care
some roles, products
such as medical through
doctor or executive, are more
600 000 stores, in competition withand
prestigious Unilever
more and Procter
valued than & Gamble.
others, suchBy
8
as increasing brand recognition
parking attendant and stored the concept of
or cleaner. Nevertheless,
information, L’Oréal hopes to strengthen
social its brand negative.
class is not inherently recognition in
Even consumers’
with consideration set. distinctions can help individuals47
C HAPTER 2 > MOTivATi ON, AB iLi TY ANd OppOrTuNi TY
the inequalities, social class
determine what their role in society is or what they would like it to be (their aspirations). Furthermore, all levels
MARKETING
statement about IMPLICATIONS
some aspect ofwho
of the social
we are –GETTING
➜class hierarchy
such CONSUMERS
make an important
as a professional, TOor aCONSIDER
contribution
a student fan. ThisYOUR
to society.
sports BRAND
also means
that self-concept is important for marketers
Types ofthebecause consumers
social class form emotional connections with what they
systems
Researchers have looked at following factors

Source: Shutterstock.cm/Mahod84
buy, strengthening brand loyalty and makinghavethem lessmajor
priceclasses:
sensitive towards that brand.5 Harley-Davidson,
that increase theMost societies
possibility three
of consumers’ recalling ahigh, middle and lower. Often, however, finer distinctions are made.
for instance, understands that its consumers see the brand as an important part of Australian
their self-concept, and took
particular brand In Australia, for example, recent research suggests that society consists of six levels,6 with around
Examine how theoretical concepts have been used in during
advantage of this by creating a60‘Harley
an internal
per centOwners
search
of the population
that brand in their consideration set.
and including
Group’ to considered
strengthenmiddle
the emotional link between
class (see Figure consumers
11.3).7 Although most societies have some
and the brand. In a similar way,kind
reality TV showsstructure,
of hierarchical can be relevant
the sizewhen viewers identify
and composition with the
of the classes lives on
depend of the
the relative prosperity of a
practice through the Marketing Implications boxes. 1 Prototypicality. When consumers engage in an
people on the show, making them particular country.
more likely to 8tune in week after week.6
internal search, they more easily recall brands that
Compared with Australia, Japan and Scandinavia have an even larger and more predominant middle class,
Consistency
are with self-construal
closest to the prototype or that most resemble
with much smaller groups above and below. This distribution means there is greater equality among people in
other
An important aspect category
of the members,
self-concept
those making
twoiscountries
one’s thanthese more
in other
self-construal likelyrefers
,societies.
which to how individuals
The Japanese see themselves
structure represents a concertedSelf-construal
government effort
to be
with respect to their includedto in
relationships the consideration
with
abolish others.
the There
social set
classare than
two
system brands
broad
and mixtypes of self-construal:
together independent
people from all levels and
of society.9 Ourvery
Yet the view competitive
of who we are based
150 PART TWO > THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CORE on our relationships with
that are not
interdependent. Consumers andanselective
typical
with of theJapanese
category.
independent educational system
For example,
self-construal tend still the
to see restricts entry
self as to higher-status
distinct, unique andcorporate
in and government
9
others.
positions. In developing areas such FIGURE 6.5 the
» PROTOTYPICALITY
Apple’saspects.
terms of their individual iPad created the
By contrast,category of
consumers tablet
with anasinterdependent
Latin America
computer, and India,
self-construal largest
tend toconcentrations
derive are in the lower

their sense of selfwhich

from ittheir classes (see Figure
still relationships
dominates. This 11.3).
withbrand
others,is more likely
IN primarily
CONSUMERfamily and close
Whenfriends.
you think These differences
of a ‘tablet’, Apple’s iPad probably comes to mind first,
53
it isDOES
DIGITAL MEDIA CONSIDERATIONS BEHAVIOUR
C HAPTER 2 > M OTivATiMOBILE
ON, AB iLi TYADVERTISING
ANd O ppOrTuNiTY
as➜ the prototype of the tablet category.
broadly align withthan other
cultural brands to
differences:
Social
INFLUENCE anbe in the consideration
independent
class influences
ATTITUDES?
setis most prevalent
self-construal in Western societies such
when
as Australia, Europe andproblem recognition
the United foran
theinterdependent
product existsself-construal is most prevalent in Eastern
SocialStates, while
class structures are important because they strongly affect norms and values and, therefore, behaviour.
reveal needs for esteem by interpreting the man in the cartoon as thinking, ‘My friends will think I’m really
cultures such (see Figure
as China,
Consumer 6.5).
Japan and
behaviour Korea.
in that
Given Amembers
mobilemore thorough
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can
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(both formally attitudes andsets.
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people
cool for riding in this car!’ Another might reveal needs for affiliation by filling in the cartoon with ‘I could take
2
An understanding of self-construal is important are
Brand
relevant to familiarity.
are
marketers Well-known
more
and likely to brands
be
advertisers. for more
influenced
Consumers by easily in for
understanding
individuals
carry familiarity
motivation. helpsthan
Individuals
theirhigh-involvement,
own social class consumers
with
by those
utilitarian recognise
a products
in which
other classes.
(e.g., of the
Note
financial
all my friends for rides with me’.
predominant interdependent
their smartphones that
recalled during ansocial
self-construal
with them class
internal influence
search
tend ismaking
than
to choose
everywhere, not a cultural
unfamiliar
products straitjacket;
the that more it
align merely
many
services). with reflects the fact that
the preferences
Mobile devices canof people with similar
172brands in the store should be attended to and
also improve life
attitudes in
friends anddevicefamily. brands
a7 One
media because
study experiences
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that tend
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interdependent
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12

Considerations boxes present examples and current Trickle-down

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these
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have consideredholistically
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phones.understand the
consumers receive a discount
key information in digital media, research and There
by
contextallow
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are several typesraise
lower classes.
on mobile communications
and outcomes.
marketers
of projective
phones – 8which
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care
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very little (if any) information consumers’ towards those products increase, making them more
international consumer behaviour. and inner desires.
brandhigh-meaning
attitudes and pictures
possibility
purchase
task. When one study asked cigarette smokers why they
is a word
andintentions.
completion
words (e.g., Superman
Interestingly,
are useful to help identify their true feelings towards the
likelydetermine
to try newwhich brands
products andthey recall173during internal
services.
Australian supermarket chain before they try to correct
in many INTERNATIONAL
fencesproduct CONSIDERATIONS
withcategories,
a picture ofmobile
Superman) IN CONSUMER
display areadsveryhaveBEHAVIOUR
effective ➜ CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
searches.13 Therefore, marketersIN canRISKattempt to
smoked, most said they306enjoyed it and believed that
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp11.indd and present their true beliefs. 11/06/20 5:48 PM
TAKING:
in increasing CHINESE,
brand-name AMERICANS
recall.10 Even inAND low- AUSTRALIANS associate products with certain goals and usage
smoking in moderation
R E F L EC E Q U E S Twas
T I V situations fine. However, when they
I OinNwhich Another method is called a thematic apperception
MAO little processing occurs, situations. For example, for an ad for a new cereal
Itwere given that
is intuitive incomplete
Americans, sentences
or such asfrom
individuals
incidental ad exposure can increase the likelihood
‘People who
Western test
As (TAT).
such, thisHere, consumers
greater risk areamong
taking shownChinese
ambiguous students
product, a marketer can show a family eating it over is
never smoke
cultures more are ___’, research
broadly, participants filled
thaninadset. pictures and are asked to A explain what’s going on, what
➜ How of alikely are would
brand’s you totake
inclusion buyingreater
athe
product risks
whose
consideration you11 seeonly in financial
on your phone contexts.
compared
breakfast in the more thorough
with seeing
morning it on
along discussion
a television?
with a tagline of touting
the blanks
Chinese with words
or This
those from othersuchnon-Western
as happier and wiser. And
cultures. the characters arecan feeling and doing. The 10.TAT allowed
explains why global brands such asThis McDonald’sculture specifically be found
its health benefits, in Chapter
such as being low in sugar and
when given
belief is perpetuated sentences such as ‘Teenagers who smoke Clearasil to understand that teenagers were concerned
C H APTE R 8 > P o s T-d e ci si on PR oce sse s 233 have high by the media
familiarity presenting
worldwide andChinese
are likely to Culturalhigh differences
in fibre. in risk taking, whether in
are ___’, respondents
individuals as more concerned answered withbeing
about words such as
conservative that acneorand
financial pimples
other domains, would
exertdisrupt their social
an impact not just lives,
crazy
and and in
fitting foolish. These
with their LO5However,
smokers
family. were one
clearly
study WHEN DO ATTITUDES PREDICT BEHAVIOUR?
more
found and
on so the company
consumers redesigned
but also theirAustralians
the economy. TV commercials
are
concerned
that about
while this maysmoking than
for their
be trueMarketers areexplicit
academic answers
interested
and socialnot only in how
risks, inattitudes
the 1980s
generally areand 1990s
formed
risk-averse andtocan
and state
seek not just and
beauthority
changed the also
but scientific
in knowing whether,
approval
behaviour by providing convenient bins for used bottles that decompose more quickly than traditional

END-OF-CHAPTER FEATURES batteries and other recyclable items. plastic containers, another step towards using packaging
indicated.
this is not so Another
25
method
for financial whenis
risks. a word
and association
whyuniversity
Chinese task.
attitudes will benefits
predict behaviour
students from of third
– the
others their facial wash
component
too much, but alsothey
evenofthough that
attitudes. pimples
Asare highlywillat the beginning
mentioned
Finally, making products and packaging as that need not be recycled.113 Trash can also be the raw Here,
are lessconsumers areon
likely to cheat
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp06.indd 165
asked
an to chapter,
of this
exam say or more
and write down
a consumer’s the
likely to fade
affective and ‘within
cognitive
creative. 12conservatism
hours’ ofofusing
components
Such hastheir
attitudes product.
towards
meant
26
Today,
thatainnovation
brand may be favourable,
8/3/20 7:11 PM
environmentally friendly as possible – and promoting material of new products. TerraCycle, for example, first word
choose whenand
a simple presented
butwith
traditional ofathis
brand,
alldesign on aproduct
is futile if she
T-shirt or
because Clearasil
or he does not
in actuallyisact
Australia one
is onoftheir
slower thethan
leading facewash
evaluations
in the brands
and beliefs.
United States globally.
The
andTORA
othermodel comes
the benefits of doing so – can help marketers attract specialises in creating and marketing tote bags from they do not wish to stand closest
out fromto their
providing thisand
families information byparts
predicting
of thewhich factors affect
Asia-Pacific region.consumers’
11
behavioural
This motivated the intentions (BIs).
consumers who like the convenience of not having to used juice pouches, among other products. ‘Waste does R E F L EC T I V E Q U E S T I O N
However,
friends.10 Yet, because they are alsoas previously
part noted, what weformation
of large families intend to doofdoes not always
Innovation predictby
Australia what weprime
then actually will do. Therefore,
minister
At the end of each chapter you will find several tools to help and
you to review,
recycle. Heinz, PepsiCo and other companies are using
local communities, they practise
also believe that should theyand extend
not exist’, reads one slogan in the company’s offices.114
marketers also need to consider which factors
Malcolm affect toyour
the attitude–behaviour
Turnbull knowledge
boost innovation relationship.
by directlyBelow
Projective techniques are ‘subtle’ in that they do not exactly ask consumers what they want or need. Why do you think
ofsome
are listed
funding
of the
take a financial risk and lose factors
money, that
such asaffect whether
investing in a consumer’s attitudes
project ideas will influence
by creative his or her
individuals, whobehaviour.
previously had
the key learning objectives. this is so?
a risky stock that ultimately
■drops,
Levelthey
of involvement/elaboration relied on
will have financial . Attitudes arecapital fromto
more likely employers, which was
predict behaviour when hard to get.involvement
cognitive
234 P A RT T H RE E > THE PR O CE S S O F M AK IN G D E CIS IO N S and material assistance from their friends
is high and and family, elaborate In
consumers oreffect,
think this reduces about
extensively the fear of information
the failure and increases
that gives rise to their
allowing them to make more risky investment
attitudes. 174
Attitudes also tend to risk
decisions. takingand
be strong in order to help
enduring anddrive Australia’s
therefore economy.of a consumer’s
more predictive
Involvement

8
behaviour when affective involvement is high. Therefore, attitudes towards emotionally charged issues
R E F L ECofT Imotivation
One outcome V E Q U E S T is
I Obehaviour
N that takes considerable effort. When consumers are highly motivated

STUDY TOOLS
LO5
Consumers sometimes develop post-decision dissonance – a feeling of anxiety or comprehend
➜ Cangoal-relevant
you think of information,
such as owning a handgun or getting an abortion tend to be strongly held and related to behaviour. What if
to achieve a goal, they are more likely to pay careful attention to it, think about it, attempt to understand or
consumers are faced with inconsistencies about a brand and learn, for example, that it rates higher against
other types of evaluate
risks inthat information
which critically and
Chinese, Americans andtry to remember
Australians mightit for later
differ?
Distinguish between competitors on one attribute but lower on another attribute? Here, the attitude–behaviour relationship is
uncertainty regarding a purchasing decision after it has been made. On occasion, use. This takes a lot of effort. For example, if you are motivated to buy a new piano keyboard, you might scour
dissonance and the weakened if consumers do not attempt to resolve the inconsistency through elaboration.175
they may feel regret when they perceive an unfavourable comparison between the websites looking for a sale. If someone mentions an online retailer that has keyboard sales from time to time,
regret that consumers
performance of the chosen option and the performance of the unchosen options. ■ Knowledge and experience. Attitudes are more likely to be strongly held and predictive of behaviour when
S Uexperience
MMARY you might subscribe to that retailer’s promotional emails.
may
after acquisition,
These feelings of regret can directly influence the consumer’s intention to buy the Review your understanding of the key chapter
the consumer is knowledgeable about or experienced with the object of the attitude.176 When making a
However, when consumers have low motivation, they devote little effort to processing information and
consumption or same product in the future. computer-buying decision, for example, an expert is more likely to form an attitude that is based on more
making decisions. For example, your motivation to purchase the best paperclips on the market is likely to be
disposition
LO1 topics with the Summary.
detailed and integrated information than is a novice. This attitude would then be more strongly held and
low. You would devote little attention to learning about the characteristics of paperclips and you would not stop
Satisfaction is both a subjective feeling and an objective evaluation that a decision more strongly related to behaviour.
Describe consumer to think about what it would be like to use various types of paperclips (coloured or uncoloured, aluminium or
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp02.indd 47 11/06/20 5:01 PM
has fulfilled a need or goal. Consumers areways,
satisfied when they make a positive Analysis of reasons . Research
suchshows that asking consumers
cheapesttobrand
analyse their reasons for brand preference
LO6 Consumers can dispose of products in various actions that have important steel, small or large). You may use■decision-making shortcuts, as deciding to buy the or the
satisfaction and
evaluation
for or feel happy with their decision. Dissatisfaction occurs when consumers
Describe how
dissatisfaction, implications marketing strategy and for an understanding of consumer behaviour. same brand you bought last time.27 This increases the link
is, in fact, howbetween
consumersattitude
tend toand behaviour
buy commonin situations inproducts.
supermarket which behaviour is measured soon after
have negative feelings and believe that their goals or needs have not
Recycling, one form of disposition, depends on consumers’ motivation, ability andbeen fulfilled,
consumers may the
and explain Most research on consumer behaviour attitudeshasare measured.
focused onMarketers should
consumers’ take thisto
motivation finding intoinformation
process account when planning consumer research
dispose of something, and responses
opportunity to act. include complaints and negative word of mouth. At the core of
importance of to support
researcha new product introduction. 177
customer satisfaction is the disconfirmation paradigm where consumers evaluate accurately, as just described. Recent has focused on a different type of motivation involved in
why this process
managing is
consumers’
moreexpectations
complex for the performance of the product to their expectations, which refer to: (1) equitable information processing that is called
■ Accessibility
motivated of attitudes.. Attitudes
reasoning When consumers
are moreengage in motivated
strongly reasoning,when
related to behaviour they are accessible
Motivated reasoning or ‘top
meaningful objects, performance expectations, (2) ideal performance expectations, and (3) expected they process information in a biased of
way so that
mind’.178 they can obtain the particular conclusion they want to reach.28 Processing information in a
Conversely, if an attitude cannot be easily remembered, it will have little effect on behaviour.
way that allows consumers
and what influences performance. For example, if your goal is to lose weight
Direct and you (product
experience see an adusage)
for a diet product,increases
generally you mightattitude
processaccessibility
the ad for attributes
to reach that
the conclusion that must
consumer recycling
in a biased way to convince yourselfbe
that the product
experienced willtasted,
(e.g., work for you. If we
touched), want toadvertising
whereas believe that weproduce
can are not accessible
they want to reach.
attitudes for search
LO2
behaviour
Theories of customer satisfaction include attribution and equity theories. Attribution vulnerable to the ill effects of smoking, we may be more likely to smoke if we are aware of smoking cessation
Explain how consumers theory involves consumers determining responsibility for an outcome, while products that are touted as ‘remedies’. Because remedies exist to help stop smoking, we can use motivated
make satisfaction
reasoning to convince ourselves that smoking is not so bad after all.29
C T I O N : C O M P A N I E Sequity
R E F L Eevaluations G O theory
S O C Iinvolves
A L F Oconsumers
R I M P R Oassessing
themselves and marketers.
V E D CtheU Samount
T O M EofR input
S E Rand
V I Coutput
E from

Do youLO3
think complaining on social media to a company is service that talking to a person can provide. Thus, there Return to the chapter-opening vignette to apply
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp05.indd 150 11/06/20 3:53 PM

useful? Why or why not? Typical responses to consumer dissatisfaction

are advantages include complaining
and disadvantages and responding
for companies in
Understand how
Complaining on social media might lead
consumers respond to
by word
to anof mouth.
immediate handling complaints via digital channels. BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp02.indd your learning through Reflection questions.
53 11/06/20 5:01 PM
response, but it might also not offer the personalised
dissatisfaction

QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW AND DISCUSSION

LO4
1 WhatDiscuss
are thethe importance
three types of expectations regarding
Maintaining customers for6 theHow does
long termpost-decision dissonance
requires improving and differ from post-
maintaining
Test your knowledge and consolidate your learning
the of effectively of
performance managing
a consumer product orsatisfaction.
service? decision
doing regret and what effect
losedo thesecustomers
have on who
through the Questions for review and discussion.
customer Without so, marketers can valued
relationships with can spread positive word of consumers?
mouth to others, and thus the loss involves not just
2 How can the expectation disconfirmation paradigm
customers existing but also potential7 future customers.
produce either satisfaction or dissatisfaction? In what eight ways can consumers dispose of
3 Define attribution theory and equity theory and something? C H APTE R 8 > P o s T-d e ci si on PR oce sse s 235
explain how they relate to dissatisfaction. 8 Why is it important for marketers to consider both
4 What is the role of feelings in influencing satisfaction physical and emotional detachment aspects of
and dissatisfaction? consumer disposition?

5 WhyCisOcomplaining
N S U M E R important
B E H A V to
I Omarketers
U R C A Sand
E how
should complaints
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp08.indd 233 be
handled? 11/06/20 3:05 PM

Analyse in-depth cases that present issues in

U B E R : T U R N I N G S AT I S FA C T I O N I N T O A T W O -WAY S T R E E T
context, encouraging you to integrate and apply the
In recent years, a new economy has emerged. It the need for cash or card processing facilities.
has been termed the ‘sharing economy’ and looks
to unlock the value of sharing resources through
Another differentiating characteristic is the increased
transparency of the Uber service. Upon requesting
concepts discussed in the chapter to the workplace.
collaborative consumption. Why not share your home and booking an Uber ride, customers are provided
while you’re away on holidays, or share your car while with the cost up-front, which is dynamic, based on
you’re not using it? The rise of these ‘peer-to-peer supply and demand of available rides. In addition,
services’ is, more often than not, facilitated by online they are given the driver’s name, contact details, car
platforms. One of the most successful names in make and model, and registration details, as well as

xiii
the sharing economy for accommodation is Airbnb. their driver’s star rating out of 5. By leveraging GPs
BK-CLA-HOYER_2E-200075-Chp08.indd 234 11/06/20 3:05 PM
Specialising in ‘home sharing’, Airbnb caters to people technology and Google maps, customers can view
looking to share all or
Copyright part of Cengage
2021 in real
their homes forLearning.
short- Alltime the approach
Rights of their ride and
Reserved. May the not
route be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
term stays, as well as to people looking for lower-cost, their driver is taking.
authentic accommodation options. Those sharing When a person is looking to become a driver
their home are termed ‘hosts’. After a stay, guests are for Uber, they are encouraged to follow a set of
prompted to rate the host and their accommodation service delivery principles, including being friendly
 Guide to the online resources
FOR THE INSTRUCTOR

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help you prepare your lectures and assessments. These teaching tools
are accessible via cengage.com.au/instructors for Australia or
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 GU IDE TO THE ON LIN E R E S O UR C E S

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xv
 P R EFACE
At just about every moment of our lives, we engage in some
form of consumption activity. When we watch an ad on
TV, send a text message to friends about a movie we just
saw, brush our teeth, go to a sporting event or beach party,
visit a website on the Internet, download a new song, or
even throw away an old pair of shoes, we are behaving as a
consumer. Being a consumer reaches into every part of our
lives. This book is dedicated to our role as consumers and
how our many different roles and perspectives influence
our behaviours as consumers. Given its omnipresence, the
study of consumer behaviour has critical implications for
areas such as marketing, health, charity, public policy and
ethics. It also helps us learn about ourselves – why we buy
WHY THE NEW EDITION OF THIS BOOK?
There are a number of consumer behaviour books on the
market. An important question concerns what this book has
to offer and what distinguishes it from other texts. There
has been an explosion of research on a variety of consumer
behaviour topics over the last 20 years. As active researchers
in the field of consumer behaviour, we have the overriding
goal to continue providing a treatment of the field that is up
to date and cutting edge, but at the same time relevant to the
local Asia–Pacific context. Our primary aim was to provide a
useful summary of this material for students of marketing.
However, in drawing on cutting-edge research, we wanted to
be careful not to become too ‘academic’. Instead, our objective
is to present cutting-edge topics in a manner that is easy for
students to understand.
Specific changes and improvements to the second
Australian and New Zealand edition of this text include:
■■ shorter length and more streamlined prose, making the
content easier for students to process
TEXTBOOK FEATURES
As award-winning teachers, we have tried to translate our
instructional abilities and experience into the writing of this
text. The following features have been a natural outgrowth of
these experiences.
Conceptual model
First, we believe that students can learn best when they
see the big picture – when they understand what concepts
mean, how these concepts are used in business practice and
how these relate to one another. In our opinion, consumer
xvi Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
certain things, why we use them in a certain way and how we
get rid of them.
In this book we explore the fascinating world of consumer
behaviour, looking at a number of interesting and exciting
topics that examine why and how we consume. Some of these
are quickly identified with our typical image of consumer
behaviour, such as a shopper with a trolley at the supermarket.
Other examples in which we are consumers may surprise you.
We hope you will see why we became stimulated and drawn
to this topic from the very moment we had our first consumer
behaviour course as students. We hope you will also appreciate
why we choose to make this field our life’s work, and why we
are dedicated to this textbook.
■■ better connection between the topics and between chapters
to provide a holistic understanding of consumer behaviour
■■ coverage of the latest research from the academic field of
consumer behaviour
■■ new in-chapter boxes concerning cultural and technological
considerations regarding consumer behaviour
■■ new end-of-chapter cases, giving students the opportunity
to discuss real-world consumer issues and to apply and use
the concepts discussed in each chapter
■■ new examples of consumer behaviour using case studies,
advertisements and brands from Australia and the Asia–
Pacific region
■■ new applications of consumer behaviour to a broader
international context
■■ improved synergistic teaching and other supplemental
materials.
behaviour is too often presented as a set of discrete and narrow
topics with little or no relationship to one another. We have
therefore developed an overall conceptual model that helps
students grasp the big picture and see how the chapters and
topics are themselves interrelated. Each chapter is linked to
other chapters by a specific model that fits within the larger
model. Further, the overall model guides the organisation of
the book. This organising scheme makes the chapters far more
integrative than most other books.

Practical orientation, with an
emphasis on international and
technological considerations
Second, we believe that insights into consumer behaviour
are interesting in and of themselves, but also that they
should be relevant to managerial practice. The ultimate goal
of consumer behaviour theory and research is to improve
the decision-making ability of managers in profit and non-
profit organisations who aim to cater to consumers’ needs. It
should help you better understand yourselves as consumers
and also give you a set of tools to succeed after you graduate,
and far beyond that. Rather than merely translating general
psychological or sociological principles and theories to a
consumer context, this book is dedicated to putting consumer
behaviour into practice and application in order to improve
managerial practice. Given our notion that students enjoy
seeing how the concepts in consumer behaviour can apply
to business practice, a second objective of the book was to
provide a very practical orientation. We include a wealth of
contemporary real-world, local examples to illustrate key
topics specifically for Australian and New Zealand students.
We also try to broaden students’ horizons by providing a
number of international examples. Given the importance
of online consumer behaviour, the new edition also fully
treats the advent and implications of the new technological
applications. It provides numerous examples of how recent
advances in such areas as social media and smartphones are
changing the way marketers understand consumers.
Current and cutting-edge
coverage
Third, we provide coverage of the field of consumer behaviour
that is as current and up to date as possible (including many
of the recent research advances). Every month there is new
research that advances our understanding of why and how
we consume. As a result, this text includes several chapters
that often do not appear in other textbooks, such as ‘Symbolic
consumer behaviour’ and ‘Marketing, ethics and social
responsibility in today’s consumer society’. As active and
award-winning researchers, we explore topics in this textbook
CONTENT AND ORGANISATION OF THE BOOK
One can currently identify two main approaches to the study
of consumer behaviour: a ‘micro’ orientation, which focuses
on the individual psychological processes that consumers use
to make acquisition, consumption and disposition decisions,
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
P r e f ace
that are at the cutting edge of consumer behaviour research
and are likely to be of considerable interest to students.
Balanced treatment of micro and
macro topics
Fourth, our book tries to provide a balanced perspective on the
field of consumer behaviour. Specifically, we give treatment
to both psychological (micro) consumer behaviour topics
(e.g. attitudes, decision making) and sociological (macro)
consumer behaviour topics (e.g. subculture, gender, social
class influences). Also, although we typically teach consumer
behaviour by starting with the more micro topics and then
moving up to more macro topics, we realise that some
instructors prefer the reverse sequence.
Broad conceptualisation of the
subject
Fifth, we present a broad conceptualisation of the topic
of consumer behaviour. While many books focus on what
products or services consumers buy, consumer behaviour
scholars have recognised that the topic of consumer behaviour
is much broader. Specifically, rather than studying buying
per se, we recognise that consumer behaviour includes a set
of decisions (what, whether, when, where, why, how, how
often, how much, how long) about acquisition (including,
but not limited to, buying), usage, and disposition decisions.
Focusing on more than what products or services consumers
buy provides a rich set of theoretical and practical implications
for both our understanding of consumer behaviour and the
practice of marketing.
Finally, we consider the relevance of consumer behaviour
to many constituents, not just marketers. Consumer behaviour
is important to marketers, doctors, charitable organisations,
public policy makers, ethicists and consumer advocacy
groups, and consumers themselves (including students’ own
lives). Understanding why people buy can shed light on why
people exercise and why they donate (or not). Some chapters
focus exclusively on the implications of consumer behaviour
for public policy makers, ethicists and consumer advocacy
groups. Other chapters consider these issues as well, though
in less detail.
and a ‘macro’ orientation, which focuses on group behaviours
and the symbolic nature of consumer behaviour. This latter
orientation draws heavily from such fields as sociology, culture
theory and anthropology. Both orientations are represented
xvii
 Pr e f ace
in this book. The current book and overall model have been
structured around a ‘micro to macro’ organisation based on
the way we teach this course and the feedback that we have
received from reviewers.
Chapter 1 in Part 1, ‘An introduction to consumer
behaviour’, provides students with an understanding of the
breadth of the field, and its importance to marketers, advocacy
groups, public policy makers and consumers themselves.
It also presents the overall model that guides the organisation
of the text. An Appendix, which follows Chapter 1, introduces
methods by which consumer research is conducted.
Part 2, ‘The psychological core’, focuses on the inner
psychological processes that affect consumer behaviour.
We see that consumers’ acquisition, usage and disposition
behaviours and decisions are greatly affected by the amount
of effort they put into engaging in behaviours and making
decisions. Chapter 2 describes three critical factors that affect
effort: the (1) motivation or desire, (2) ability (knowledge and
information) and (3) opportunity to engage in behaviours
and make decisions. In Chapter 3, we then examine how
information in consumers’ environments (ads, prices, product
features, word-of-mouth communications, etc.) is internally
processed by consumers – how they come in contact with
these stimuli (exposure), notice them (attention) and perceive
them (perception – and how we attempt to understand or
comprehend them on a deeper level). Chapter 4 continues by
discussing how we compare new stimuli to our knowledge
of existing stimuli, in a process called categorisation. Also,
because consumers often must remember the information
they have previously stored in order to make decisions, this
chapter examines the important topic of consumer memory.
In Chapter 5, we see how attitudes are formed and changed and
whether they are cognitively or affectively based.
Whereas Part 2 examines some of the internal factors that
influence consumers’ decisions, a critical domain of consumer
behaviour involves understanding how consumers make
acquisition, consumption and disposition decisions. Therefore,
in Part 3, ‘The process of making decisions’, we examine the
xviii Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
sequential steps of the consumer decision-making process.
In Chapter 6, we examine the initial steps of this process –
problem recognition and information search. We next examine
the consumer decision-making process and how consumers
make judgements (Chapter 7), again from both a cognitive and
an affective perspective. Finally, the process does not end after
a decision has been made. In Chapter 8, we see how consumers
determine whether they are satisfied or dissatisfied with their
decisions and how they learn from choosing and consuming
products and services.
Part 4, ‘The consumer’s culture’, reflects a ‘macro’ view
of consumer behaviour that examines how various aspects
of culture affect consumer behaviour. As Chapter 9 explains,
our behaviour and decisions can be influenced by certain
individuals, specific groups (such as friends and co-workers),
and both traditional and social media. Then, we see how
consumer diversity (in terms of age, gender, sexual orientation,
region, ethnicity and religion) can affect consumer behaviour
in Chapter 10. Chapter 11 looks at various types of households
and families and explores how household members influence
acquisition and consumption decisions. It also examines how
social class affects consumer decisions and behaviours, and
how the combination of diversity, social class and household
influences can affect our values, personality and lifestyle.
Finally, Part 5, ‘Consumer behaviour outcomes and
issues’, examines the effects of the numerous influences
and decision processes discussed in the previous three parts.
Chapter 12 builds on the topics of internal decision making
and group behaviour by examining how consumers adopt new
offerings, and how their adoption decisions affect the spread
or diffusion of an offering through a market. Because products
and services often reflect deep-felt and significant meanings
(e.g. our favourite song or restaurant), Chapter 13 focuses on
the exciting topic of symbolic consumer behaviour. Finally,
Chapter 14 examines marketing, ethics and social responsibility,
and focuses on marketing and consumer ethics, as well
as marketing practices that have been the focus of social
commentary in recent years.

Wayne D. Hoyer
Wayne D. Hoyer is the James L. Bayless/William S. Farish Fund
Chair for Free Enterprise in the McCombs School of Business
at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his PhD in
Consumer Psychology from Purdue University in 1980. He also
holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bern in
Switzerland. His major area of study is Consumer Psychology
and his research interests include consumer information
processing and decision making, customer relationship
management and new product development, and advertising
information processing (including miscomprehension,
humour, and brand personality). Wayne has published over
100 articles in various publications including the Journal of
Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing
Research, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of
Retailing. A 1998 article in the Journal of Marketing Research
(with Susan Broniarczyk and Leigh McAlister) won the O’Dell
Award in 2003 for the article that had the most impact in
the marketing field over that five-year period. In addition to
Consumer Behaviour, he has co-authored two books on the
topic of advertising miscomprehension. He is a current area
editor for the Journal of Marketing, a former associate editor
for the Journal of Consumer Research and serves on eight
editorial review boards including the Journal of Marketing
Research, Journal of Consumer Research, and Journal of Consumer
Psychology. His major areas of teaching include consumer
behaviour, customer strategy, and marketing communications.
He has also taught internationally at the University of
Mannheim, the University of Münster, and the Otto Beisheim
School of Management (all in Germany), the University of
Bern in Switzerland, the University of Cambridge (UK), and
Thammasat University in Thailand. He has also been the
Montezemolo Visiting Research Fellow in the Judge School of
Business and is a Visiting Fellow of Sidney Sussex College at
the University of Cambridge (UK).
Debbie MacInnis
Debbie MacInnis (PhD, University of Pittsburgh 1986) is
the Charles L. and Ramona I. Hilliard Professor of Business
Administration and Professor of Marketing at the University
of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA. She has previously
held positions as Chairperson of the Marketing Department
and Vice Dean for Research. Debbie has published papers
in the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing
Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, Psychology and Marketing, and others in the
areas of marketing communications, information processing,
imagery, emotions, and branding. She is an Associate Editor for
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Consumer
Psychology. She has also served as a member of the editorial
review boards of the Journal of Consumer Research, Journal
of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of
the Academy of Marketing Sciences and has won outstanding
reviewer awards from these journals. She has also served on
the editorial review boards of other journals in marketing
and business. Debbie has served as Conference Co-Chair,
Treasurer, and President of the Association for Consumer
Research. She has also served as Vice President of Conferences
and Research for the Academic Council of the American
Marketing Association. She has received major awards for
her research, including the Alpha Kappa Psi and Maynard
awards, given to the best practice- and theory-based articles,
respectively, published in the Journal of Marketing. Debbie’s
research has also been named as a finalist for the Practice
Prize Competition for contributions to marketing, and the
Converse Award for significant long-term contributions to
marketing. She has been named recipient of the Marshall
Teaching Innovation Award, the Dean’s Award for Community,
and the Dean’s Award for Research from the Marshall School
of Business. Her classes have won national awards through
the SAA National Advertising Competition. Debbie’s major
areas of teaching include consumer behaviour and integrated
marketing communications. Debbie lives in Los Angeles with
her husband and two children.
Rik Pieters
Rik Pieters is Professor of Marketing at the Tilburg School of
Economics and Management (TISEM) of Tilburg University,
the Netherlands. He received his PhD in social psychology
from the University of Leiden in 1989. Rik believes in
interdisciplinary work, and that imagination, persistence
and openness to surprise are a person’s biggest assets. He
has published over 90 articles in marketing, psychology,
economics, and statistics. His work has appeared in Journal of
Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of
Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science,
Management Science, and International Journal of Research
in Marketing. He has published in the Journal of Personality
and Social Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human
Decision Processes, European Journal of Social Psychology,
Emotion, Psychological Science, and Journal of Economic
Literature. Currently, Rik is an Associate Editor of the Journal
of Marketing Research. His research concerns attention and
memory processes in marketing communication, and the role
of emotions in consumer decision making. He has served as
Co-Chair of the Association for Consumer Research annual
xix
A b o ut t h e a u t h ors
conference, and has co-organised special conferences on visual
marketing, social communication, and service marketing and
management. He has taught internationally at Pennsylvania
State University; University of Innsbruck, Austria; Koc
University, Turkey; and the University of Auckland, New
Zealand. He has won best teaching awards at the school and
university levels. He has been Strategy Director for National
and International clients at the Prad/FCB advertising agency,
Amsterdam office. He bakes bread, rides bikes, and drinks
hoppy, fermented barley beverages, all except the first in
moderation. In his spare time, he works.
Eugene Chan
Eugene Chan is an Associate Professor in the Division of
Consumer Science at Purdue University in Indiana, USA. He
grew up in Toronto and received his PhD from the University of
Toronto after receiving his undergraduate and master’s degrees
in psychology from the Universities of Michigan and Chicago,
respectively. He has previously taught at Monash University
in Melbourne, UTS in Sydney, in Slovenia and Canada. His
research interests are in consumer, financial and political
decision making. His work has been published in outlets
such as Journal of Consumer Psychology, European Journal of
Marketing, European Journal of Social Psychology, Evolution and
Human Behavior, International Journal of Research in Marketing
xx Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
He teaches advertising and consumer behaviour, marketing
research and services marketing at undergraduate, master’s
and doctoral levels. He enjoys both classical opera and country
music, prefers baseball to cricket and is an avid global traveller.
Gavin Northey
Gavin Northey is a senior lecturer in marketing at Griffith
University, Australia. Having worked in both industry and
academia, he sees the continual transfer of evidence-based
knowledge between the two as a defining career objective. As a
researcher, Gavin focuses on both the causes and implications
of consumer behaviour in different marketing scenarios, with
particular focus on the role of advertising. His research has
appeared in a range of leading journals including International
Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research,
Psychology & Marketing, Journal of Business Research and
Journal of International Marketing. He has received a number
of awards including the 2018 Outstanding Reviewer award for
European Journal of Marketing and the 2019 ANZMAC award
for best overall research paper. Gavin is currently Associate
Editor of the Australasian Marketing Journal. While academia
is his calling, if he was more coordinated, more athletic and
didn’t fear injury, he is sure he would have been a superstar in
snowboarding.

Creating a textbook requires a large team of dedicated professionals
who are able to pool their skills from a range of disciplines. In the
first instance, special thanks must go to Michelle Aarons who
was able to bring such a team together. Likewise, the effort and
commitment of James Cole at Cengage has been instrumental in
driving the project forward. His leadership, advice and empathy
was invaluable throughout. Additionally, there are a large number
of people that have provided feedback and guidance along this
journey. They are too many to name, but they know who they are
and without their input, this textbook wouldn’t be such a success.
The authors are eternally grateful to all.
The authors and Cengage Learning would like to thank the
following reviewers for their incisive and helpful feedback:
■■ Jana Bowden – Macquarie University
■■ Dr Joan Carlini – Griffith University
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
■■ Ken Hyde – Auckland University
■■ Arnold Japutra – University of Western Australia
■■ Dr Janet Davey –Victoria University of Wellington
■■ Dr Sujana Adapa – University of New England
■■ Billy Sung – Curtin University
■■ Dr. Rumman Hassan – University of Southern Queensland.
Additionally, we would like to extend our thanks to those who
reviewed the previous edition of this text.
Every effort has been made to trace and acknowledge copyright.
However, if any infringement has occurred, the publishers tender
their apologies and invite the copyright holders to contact them.
xxi
Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 PART
ONE
AN INTRODUCTION TO
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
PART 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

1 Understanding consumer behaviour

PART 2 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CORE

2 Motivation, ability and opportunity

3 From exposure to comprehension
4 Memory and knowledge
5 Attitudes and persuasion

PART 3 THE PROCESS OF MAKING DECISIONS

6 Problem recognition and information search

7 Judgement and decision making
8 Post-decision processes

PART 4 THE CONSUMER’S CULTURE

9 Social influences on consumer behaviour

10 Consumer diversity
11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour

PART 5 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OUTCOMES AND ISSUES

12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion

13 Symbolic consumer behaviour
14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s
consumer society

CHAPTER
Understanding consumer
1 behaviour 3 well as clues as to when, where, why and how they make decisions.
Appendix: Conducting
research in consumer
behaviour
In Part 1, you will learn that consumer behaviour involves much more than purchasing
products. In addition, you will find out that marketers continuously study consumer
behaviour for clues as to who buys, uses and disposes of what goods and services, as
Chapter 1 defines consumer behaviour and examines its importance to marketers,
advocacy groups, public policymakers and consumers. The chapter also presents
29
the overall model that guides the organisation of this book. As this model indicates,
consumer behaviour covers four basic domains: (1) the psychological core, (2) the
process of making decisions, (3) the consumer’s culture, and (4) consumer behaviour
outcomes and issues. In addition, you will read about the implications of consumer
behaviour for marketing activities.

Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
1
 The Appendix focuses on consumer behaviour research and how marketers can learn
more about their consumers’ habits and preferences. You will learn about various
research methods, types of data and ethical issues related to consumer research.
With this background, you will be able to understand how consumer research helps
marketers develop more effective strategies and tactics for reaching and satisfying
customers.

PART 1 AN INTRODUCTION TO CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

1 Understanding consumer behaviour

PART 2 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CORE

2 Motivation, ability and opportunity

3 From exposure to comprehension
4 Memory and knowledge
5 Attitudes and persuasion

PART 3 THE PROCESS OF MAKING DECISIONS

6 Problem recognition and information search

7 Judgement and decision making
8 Post-decision processes

PART 4 THE CONSUMER’S CULTURE

9 Social influences on consumer behaviour

10 Consumer diversity
11 External and internal influences on consumer behaviour

PART 5 CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OUTCOMES AND ISSUES

12 Innovations: adoption, resistance and diffusion

13 Symbolic consumer behaviour
14 Marketing, ethics and social responsibility in today’s
consumer society

FIGURE 1.1 » A MODEL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour encompasses four domains: (1) the psychological core, (2) the process of making decisions, (3) the consumer’s culture, and (4)
consumer behaviour outcomes and issues. As the figure shows, chapters 2–14 of this textbook relate to the four parts of this overall model.

Copyright 2021 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. WCN 02-200-202
 1 Understanding consumer
behaviour
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

AFTER STUDYING THIS CHAPTER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO:

LO1 define consumer behaviour and explain the components that make up the definition
LO2 identify the four domains of consumer behaviour that affect acquisition, usage and disposition decisions
LO3 discuss the benefits of studying consumer behaviour
LO4 explain how companies apply consumer behaviour concepts when making marketing decisions.

Toby’s Estate: more than coffee

Historically, when people think of coffee, they typically
don’t think of Australia. Italy, France and Colombia
may come to mind, but certainly not the country
that produces kangaroos and koalas! However, in
the past few decades, Australians have developed a
coffee culture to such an extent that Australian coffee,
especially that which can be found in Melbourne’s
local coffee shops, is now widely regarded as among
the best in the world, having won prestigious coffee
brewing competitions globally. Coffee shops with
Melbourne-trained baristas are increasingly common in
Los Angeles and New York.1 Australian coffee culture is
and even a presence in the Big Apple – New York.
Australian coffees are expanding abroad and some of
the thanks for that can go to Toby’s Estate.2
What makes Toby’s Estate so successful, not just in
Australia but also worldwide? Certainly its knowledge
of its customers’ tastes and preferences. But ‘tastes’
and ‘preferences’ goes beyond the aroma or nuttiness
that Australians prefer in their daily cup of coffee. As
part of its coffee roasting operations, Toby’s Estate also
adopts a ‘Social, Ethical and Environmental’ philosophy

© Fairfax Syndication/Jennifer Soo

also truly a ‘culture’ with its own slang, idioms and other
sayings. Instead of an ‘espresso shot’, Australians like
to say ‘short black’. The flat white is found abroad now,
but it originated in Australia and New Zealand – even
Starbucks recently started offering flat whites in its
North American operations.
Within the Australian coffee community, Toby’s
Estate is one of the most loved coffee roasters in the
country (see Figure 1.2). It provides the coffee beans
to some of the country’s finest coffee shops, with long
queues during the morning and afternoon rush hours.
Toby’s has 11 Australian roasting sites with a total of
about 120 staff and a wholesale arm that functions
as the backbone of the business. Its renowned coffee FIGURE 1.2 » TOBY’S ESTATE IS SUCCESSFUL BECAUSE
IT UNDERSTANDS COFFEE TASTES AND PREFERENCES
roasting has also extended to other countries. For AND IS DEVOTED TO PRACTISING SOCIAL, ETHICAL AND
example, it has stores in Singapore and the Philippines, ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY

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3
 4 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

that means sustainable relationships are maintained
with local coffee bean farmers that are built on trust and
traceability in finding the best quality coffee, as well as tea
and chocolate, at fair prices for all parties involved.3
As such, when Australians are drinking their morning
cup of coffee, they aren’t just drinking coffee the beverage,
but are also playing a role in helping a business operation
that protects the rights of farmers as well as the natural
environment in which the coffee beans grow. The dedication
to superior coffee beyond taste is one reason why Toby’s
Estate has been so successful in the Australian market.
This chapter provides a general overview of: (1) what
consumer behaviour is, (2) what factors affect it,
(3) who benefits from studying it, and (4) how marketers
apply consumer behaviour concepts. Because you are a
consumer, you probably have some thoughts about these
issues. However, you may be surprised at how broad the
domain of consumer behaviour is, how many factors help
explain it, and how important the field is to marketers,
ethicists and consumer advocates, public policymakers
and regulators, and consumers like yourself. You will also
get a glimpse of the marketing implications of consumer
behaviour, previewing how we will connect consumer
behaviour concepts with practical applications throughout
this textbook.

R E F L EC T I V E Q U E S T I O N

➜ How important to the success of Toby’s Estate is understanding consumer behaviour?

LO1 DEFINING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Consumer behaviour
The totality of consumers’
decisions with respect to the
acquisition, consumption and
disposition of goods, services,
activities, experiences, people
and ideas by human decision-
making units (over time).
If you were asked to define consumer behaviour, you might say it refers to the study of how a person buys
products. However, consumer behaviour really involves quite a bit more, as this more complete definition
indicates:
Consumer behaviour reflects the totality of consumers’ decisions with respect to the
acquisition, consumption and disposition of goods, services, activities, experiences, people
and ideas by (human) decision-making units [over time].4
This definition has some very important elements. The following sections present a closer look at each
element.
Think of some marketing strategies and tactics that try to influence one or more of the dimensions of
consumer behaviour shown in Figure 1.3.

Consumer behaviour involves goods, services, activities,

Offering
A product, service, activity,
experience or idea offered
by an organisation to
consumers.
Acquisition
The process by which a
consumer comes to own an
offering.
experiences, people and ideas
Consumer behaviour means more than just the way in which a person buys tangible products such as bath
soap or smartphones. It also includes consumers’ use of services, activities, experiences and ideas, such
as going to the dentist, attending a concert, taking a trip and donating to UNICEF.5 In addition, consumers
make decisions about people, such as voting for politicians, who to go on a date with, reading books by certain
authors, seeing movies or TV shows starring certain actors and attending concerts featuring favourite bands.
All of these decisions are consumption decisions since consumers ‘take in’ these products and services, whether
physiologically (e.g., food) or mentally (e.g., a movie at a cinema). Because consumer behaviour includes the
consumption of so many things, we use the simple term offering to encompass these entities.
How consumers make decisions and purchases is extremely important to marketers. However, marketers
are also intensely interested in consumer behaviour related to using and disposing of an offering.
Acquiring
Buying is one type of acquisition behaviour. As shown later in this chapter, acquisition includes other ways
of obtaining goods and services, such as renting, leasing, trading and sharing. It also involves decisions about
time as well as money.6 For example, when consumers make a purchase that does not work out well, they
will perceive the time period until the next purchase as being shorter because they want to remove negative
feeling.7 Consumers sometimes find themselves interrupted during a consumption experience; studies show

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 5

Consumer behaviour reflects:

the totality about the by decision-
of an offering over time
of decisions consumption making units

Whether Products Information Hours

gatherer
What
Services
Acquisition Days
Why
Influencer
How Activities
Usage Weeks
When Decider
Experiences
Where
Disposition Purchaser Months
How much/ People
How often/
How long Ideas User Years

Marketing strategies and tactics

FIGURE 1.3 » WHAT IS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

interruption actually makes a pleasant experience seem more enjoyable when resumed.8 Deadlines and time
pressure can also affect acquisition behaviour: consumers tend to procrastinate in redeeming coupons and gift
cards with far-future deadlines, but they move more quickly when deadlines are closer. Why? Because they do
not want to regret having missed out and they expect to have more time to enjoy and indulge themselves with
the acquisition in the future.9

Using
After consumers acquire an offering, they use it, which is why usage is at the very core of consumer behaviour.10 Usage
The process by which a
Whether and why we use certain products can symbolise something about who we are, what we value and what
consumer uses an offering.
we believe. The products we use on ANZAC Day (e.g., ANZAC biscuits that we bake at home or buy from stores)
may symbolise the event’s significance and how we feel about our country. The Australian music we may enjoy
(Tones and I, or Kylie Minogue) and the jewellery we wear (earrings or engagement rings) can also symbolise who
we are and how we feel. Moreover, marketers must be sensitive to when consumers are likely to use a product,11
whether they find it effective,12 whether they control their consumption of it,13 and how they react after using it –
do they spread positive or negative word-of-mouth reviews about a new film, for instance?14

Disposing
Disposition, how consumers get rid of an offering they have previously acquired, can have important Disposition
The process by which a
implications for marketers. Consumers can give away their used possessions, sell them on Gumtree or lend
15
consumer discards an
them to others. Vintage clothing stores now sell older clothes (disposed of by the original owners) that buyers offering.
find stylish. Eco-minded consumers often seek out biodegradable products made from recycled materials or
choose goods that do not pollute when disposed of. Governments and local councils are also interested in how
to motivate an earth-friendly disposition (see Figure 1.4).16 Marketers see profit opportunities in addressing
disposition concerns. Terra-Cycle, for example, markets tote bags, pencil cases and other products made from
used packaging and recycled materials in Australia. In North and South America, Europe and the Baltic region,
Terra-Cycle partners with firms such as PepsiCo to collect mountains of discarded packaging and turn them into
usable products for sale.17

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 6 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

Consumers dispose of old products they acquired in a number of ways. This

Waste Authority, Government of Western Australia

evocative ad from the Waste Authority encourages Australians to properly dispose of

recyclables on Australia Day.

Consumer behaviour is a dynamic process

The sequence of acquisition, consumption and disposition can occur over time in
a dynamic order – hours, days, weeks, months or years, as shown in Figure 1.3. To
illustrate, assume that a family has acquired and is using a new car. Usage provides
the family with information – whether the car drives well and is reliable – that affects
when, whether, how and why members will dispose of the car by selling, trading
or sending it to the wreckers. Because the family always needs transportation,
disposition is likely to affect when, whether, how and why its members acquire
another car in the future.
Entire markets are designed around linking one consumer’s disposition decision
to other consumers’ acquisition decisions. When consumers buy used cars, they
are buying cars that others have sold. From Gumtree’s online listings to secondhand
clothing stores run by Salvos, from consignment shops to used books sold online,
many businesses exist to link one consumer’s disposition behaviour with another’s
acquisition behaviour.
Broader changes in consumer behaviour occur over time as well. Fifty years
FIGURE 1.4 » DISPOSITION
ago, consumers had far fewer brand choices and were exposed to fewer marketing
messages. By contrast, today’s consumers are more connected, easily able to research
offerings online, access communications and promotions in multiple media, and check what others think
of brands with a quick search or social media post. Before the Internet, it was hard to acquire goods from
abroad; today, it’s easy to add to a cart and have products shipped to our doorstep from beyond Australia. Or
simply consider how you can interact with your favourite store without having to physically step foot inside.
You can visit its website, ‘like’ its Facebook page or even download its app on your smartphone. Social media
and digital platforms are also now the first channel of choice for marketers wishing to communicate directly
with consumers, informing them of new products and celebrity endorsements and maintaining relations.
These tactics would never have been possible with more traditional communication channels such as via the
post office.

Consumer behaviour can involve many people

Consumer behaviour does not necessarily reflect the action of a single individual. A group of friends, a few
co-workers or an entire family may plan a birthday party or decide where to have lunch, exchanging ideas in
person, while talking on the phone, via social media or by email or text message. Moreover, the individuals
engaging in consumer behaviour can take on one or more roles. In the case of a car purchase, for example, one
or more family members might take on the role of information gatherer by researching different models. Others
might assume the role of influencer and try to affect the outcome of a decision. One or more members may
take on the role of purchaser by actually paying for the car and some or all may be users. Finally, several family
members may be involved in the disposal of the car.

Consumer behaviour involves many decisions

Consumer behaviour involves understanding whether, why, when, where, how, how much, how often and for
how long consumers will buy, use or dispose of an offering (look back at Figure 1.3).

Whether to acquire/use/dispose of an offering

Consumers must decide whether to acquire, use or dispose of an offering. They may need to decide whether to
spend or save their money when they earn extra cash.18 How much they decide to spend may be influenced by
their perceptions of how much they recall spending in the past.19

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 7

They may need to decide whether to order a pizza, clean out a closet or stream a movie on Stan. Some
consumers collect items, for example, a situation that has created a huge market for buying, selling,
transporting, storing and insuring collectible items.20 Decisions about whether to acquire, use or dispose
of an offering are often related to personal goals, safety concerns or a desire to reduce economic, social or
psychological risk.

What offering to acquire/use/dispose of

Consumers make decisions every day about what to buy; in fact, each Australian household spends an average
of $1425 per week on goods and services, including housing and transport costs.21 In some cases, we make
choices among product or service categories, such as buying food versus downloading new music. In other cases,
we choose between brands, such as whether to buy an iPhone or an Android model. Our choices multiply daily
as marketers introduce new products, sizes and packages. Figure 1.5 shows some of the spending patterns of
Australian consumers in particular age groups.

Why acquire/use/dispose of an offering

Consumption can occur for a number of reasons. Among the most important reasons, as you will see later, are
the ways in which an offering meets someone’s needs, values or goals. Some consumers acquire tattoos as a
form of self-expression, to fit into a group or to express their feelings about someone or something. In New York
City, the Social Tattoo Project provides free tattoos of Twitter hashtags to highlight social causes (#poverty, for
example).22 Taking the self-expression of tattoos into the automotive arena, Ford has offered dozens of vinyl
wrap ‘tattoos’ for buyers to use in personalising its Ford Focus cars.23
Sometimes our reasons for using an offering are filled with conflict, which leads to some difficult
consumption decisions. Teenagers may smoke, even though they know it is harmful, because they think
smoking will help them gain acceptance. Some consumers may be unable to stop acquiring, using or disposing
of products. They may be physically addicted to products such as cigarettes or they may have a compulsion to
eat, gamble or buy.

Why an offering is not acquired/used/disposed of

Marketers also try to understand why consumers do not acquire, use or dispose of an offering. For example,
consumers may delay buying a tablet computer because they believe that the product will soon be outdated or
that some firms will depart this market, leaving them without after-sale support or service. At times, consumers
who want to acquire or consume an offering are unable to do so because what they want is unavailable. Ethics
and social responsibility can also play a role, as the opening example with Toby’s Estate illustrates. Some
consumers may want to avoid products made in factories with questionable labour practices or avoid movies
downloaded, copied and shared without permission.24

Ways of acquiring an offering

How do consumers decide whether to acquire an offering in a store or shopping centre, online or at an auction?25
How do they decide whether to pay with cash, a debit card, a credit card, an electronic system such as PayPal or
a mobile wallet payment app on their smartphones?26 These examples relate to consumers’ buying decisions,
but Table 1.1 shows that consumers can acquire an offering in other ways. Sharing is a form of acquisition, such
as sharing possessions within a family or sharing videos via YouTube.27

Ways of using an offering

In addition to understanding how consumers acquire an offering, marketers want to know how consumers
use an offering.28 For obvious reasons, marketers want to ensure that their offering is used correctly.
Improper usage of offerings, such as cough medicine or alcohol, can create health and safety problems.29
Because consumers may ignore label warnings and directions on potentially dangerous products,
marketers who want to make warnings more effective have to understand how consumers process label
information.

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8 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

Source: Moneysmart website, moneysmart.gov.au. Reproduced with permission of ASIC.

FIGURE 1.5 » WEEKLY SPEND BY LIFZE STAGE

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 9

TABLE 1.1 » EIGHT WAYS TO ACQUIRE AN OFFERING

Acquisition method Description
Buying Buying is a common acquisition method used for many offerings.
Trading Consumers might receive a good or service as part of a trade.
Renting or leasing Instead of buying, consumers rent or lease cars, furniture, holiday homes and
more.
Bartering Consumers (and businesses) can exchange goods or services without having
money change hands.
Gifting Each society has many gift-giving occasions as well as informal or formal rules
dictating how gifts are to be given, what is an appropriate gift and how to
respond to a gift.
Finding Consumers sometimes find goods that others have lost (hats left on a train) or
thrown away.
Stealing Because various offerings can be acquired through theft, marketers have
developed products to deter this acquisition method, such as alarms to deter
car theft.
Sharing Another method of acquisition is by sharing or borrowing. Some types of sharing
are illegal and border on theft, as when consumers copy and share movies.

Ways of disposing of an offering

Sometimes nothing but the packaging remains of an offering (such as food) after it has been consumed. This
leaves only a decision about whether to recycle or not and how. Consumers who want to dispose of a tangible
product have several options:30
■■ Find a new use for it. Using an old toothbrush to clean rust from tools or making shorts out of an old pair of
jeans shows how consumers can continue using an item instead of disposing of it.
■■ Get rid of it temporarily. Renting or lending an item is one way of getting rid of it temporarily.
■■ Get rid of it permanently. Throwing away an item, sending it to a recycling centre, trading it, giving it away
or selling it are all ways to get rid of it permanently. However, some consumers refuse to throw away things
that they regard as special, even if the items no longer serve a functional purpose.

When to acquire/use/dispose of an offering

The timing of consumer behaviour can depend on many factors, including our perceptions of and attitudes
towards time itself. Consumers may think in terms of whether it is ‘time for me’ or ‘time for others’ and whether
acquiring or using an offering is planned or spontaneous.31 In cold weather, our tendency to rent movies or shop
for clothes is greatly enhanced. At the same time, we are less likely to eat ice cream, shop for a car or look for
a new home during cold weather. Time of day influences many consumption decisions, which is why many
organisations have added drive-throughs to accommodate customers in a hurry, including drive-through bottle
shops, drive-through ATMs and of course drive-through fast food.32
Our need for variety can affect when we acquire, use or dispose of an offering. We may decide not to eat
a sandwich for lunch today if we have already had it every other day this week. Major life transitions such as
graduation, birth, retirement and death also affect when we acquire, use and dispose of offerings. For instance,
we buy wedding rings when we get married. When we consume can be affected by traditions influenced by our
families, our culture and the area in which we live.
Decisions about when to acquire or use an offering are also affected by knowing when others might or
might not be buying or using it. Therefore, we might choose to go to the gym when we know that others will
not be doing so. In addition, we may wait to buy until we know something will be on sale; even if we have to line
up to buy something popular, we are likely to continue waiting if we see many people joining the line behind
us.33 Also, waiting to consume a pleasurable product such as lollies increases our enjoyment of its consumption,
even though we may be frustrated by having to wait.34
Another decision is when to acquire a new, improved version of a product we already own. This can be a
difficult decision when the current model still works well or has sentimental value. However, marketers may

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10 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

be able to affect whether and when consumers buy upgrades by providing economic incentives for replacing
older products.35

Where to acquire/use/dispose of an offering

Consumers have more choices of where to acquire, use and dispose of an offering than they have ever had before,
including making purchases in stores, by mail, by phone and over the Internet. The Internet has changed where
we acquire, use and dispose of goods. Many consumers buy online via computer or smartphone because they
like the convenience or the price or to acquire unique products.36 And as the success of Gumtree shows, the
Internet can help people dispose of goods that are then acquired by others.
In addition to acquisition decisions, consumers also make decisions about where to consume various
products. For example, the need for privacy motivates consumers to stay home when using products that
determine whether they are ovulating or pregnant. On the other hand, wireless connections allow consumers
in public places to make phone calls, post messages to social media sites, play computer games and download
photos or music even if they are on a beach, far away from home or a computer. Consumers can also make
charitable donations via text messages.37
Finally, consumers make decisions regarding where to dispose of goods. Should they toss an old magazine
in the rubbish or the recycling bin? Should they store an old photo album in a cupboard or give it to a relative?
Older consumers in particular may worry about what will happen to their special possessions after their death
and about how to divide heirlooms without creating family conflict. These consumers hope that mementos
will serve as a legacy for their heirs.38 A growing number of consumers are recycling unwanted goods through
recycling agencies or non-profit groups, or giving them directly to other consumers through websites such as
the Freecycle Network (http://www.freecycle.org) (see Figure 1.6).
© Alamy Stock Photo/NetPhotos

FIGURE 1.6 » WHERE TO DISPOSE

Consumers have a number of options regarding places to dispose of goods, such as this recycling website.

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 11

How much, how often and how long to acquire/use/dispose of

an offering
Consumers must make decisions about how much of a good or service they need, how often they need it,
and how much time they will spend in acquisition, usage and disposition.39 Usage decisions can vary widely
from person to person and from culture to culture. For example, consumers in Switzerland eat twice as much
chocolate as consumers in Russia.40
Sales of a product can be increased when the consumer: (1) uses larger amounts of the product, (2) uses
the product more frequently, or (3) uses it for longer periods of time. Bonus packages may motivate consumers
to buy more of a product, but does this stockpiling lead to higher consumption? In the case of food products,
consumers are more likely to increase consumption when the stockpiled item requires no preparation.41 Usage
may also increase when consumers sign up for flat-fee pricing covering unlimited consumption of telephone
services or other offerings. However, because many consumers who choose flat-fee programs overestimate
their likely consumption, they often pay more than if they had chosen per-usage pricing.42
Some consumers experience problems because they engage in more acquisition, usage or disposition than
they should. For example, they may have a compulsion to overbuy, overeat or smoke or gamble too much.
Researchers are also investigating what affects consumers’ abilities to control consumption temptations and
what happens when self-control falters, an issue for anybody who has tried to diet or make other changes to
consumption habits.43

Consumer behaviour involves emotions and coping

Consumer researchers have studied the powerful role that emotions play in consumer behaviour.44 Positive
and negative emotions as well as specific emotions such as hope,45 fear,46 regret,47 guilt,48 embarrassment49 and
general moods50 can affect how consumers think, the choices they make, how they feel after making a decision,
what they remember and how much they enjoy an experience. Emotions such as love sometimes describe how
we feel about certain brands or possessions.51 Consumers often use products to regulate their feelings – as when
a scoop of ice cream seems like a good antidote to a bad quiz score.52 Researchers have also studied how service
employees’ emotions can affect consumers’ emotions outside of their awareness.53
Because issues related to consumer behaviour can involve stress, consumers often need to cope in some
way.54 Researchers have studied how consumers cope with difficult choices and an overwhelming array of goods
from which to choose;55 how consumers use goods and services to cope with stressful events56 such as having
cancer; and how they cope with losing possessions due to divorce, natural disasters, moving to a residential-
care facility and other incidents.57 They have even studied the coping behaviour of certain market segments,
such as low-literacy consumers, who often find it challenging to understand the marketplace without being
able to read.58

LO2 WHAT AFFECTS CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

The many factors that affect acquisition, usage and disposition decisions can be classified into four broad
domains, as shown in the model at the start of the chapter: (1) the psychological core, (2) the process of making
decisions, (3) the consumer’s culture, and (4) consumer behaviour outcomes. Although the four domains are
presented in separate sections of this book, each domain is related to all the others. For example, to make
decisions that affect outcomes such as buying new products, consumers must first engage in processes
described in the psychological core. They need to be motivated, able and have the opportunity to be exposed
to, perceive and attend to information. They need to think about and comprehend this information, develop
attitudes about it and form memories they can retrieve during the decision process (see Figure 1.1).
The cultural environment also affects what motivates consumers, how they process information and the
kinds of decisions they make. Age, gender, social class, ethnicity, families, friends and other factors affect
consumer values and lifestyles and, in turn, influence the decisions that consumers make and how and why
they make them. In the following overview, we illustrate the interrelationships among the domains with an
example of a holiday decision.

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 12 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

The psychological core: internal consumer processes

Before consumers can make decisions, they must have some source of knowledge or information upon which
to base their decisions. This source – the psychological core – covers motivation, ability and opportunity
(MAO); exposure, attention, perception and comprehension; memory and knowledge; and attitudes about
an offering.

Motivation, ability and opportunity

Consider the case of a consumer named Jason who is deciding on a ski holiday. In Jason’s mind, the holiday decision
is risky because it will consume a lot of money and time and he does not want to make a bad choice. Therefore,
Jason is motivated to learn as much as he can about various holiday options, think about them and imagine what
they will be like. He has put other activities aside to give himself the opportunity to learn and think about this
holiday. Because Jason already knows how to ski, he has the ability to determine what types of ski holidays he
would find enjoyable. Whether he focuses on how much the trip will cost or how much fun he will have depends
on how soon he plans to travel and how well the place he plans to visit fits with his self-concept.59

Exposure, attention, perception and comprehension

Because Jason is motivated to decide where to go on holiday and has both the ability and opportunity to
do so, he will make sure he is exposed to and attends to any information relevant to his decision. He might
look at travel ads and websites, read travel-related articles, check Twitter for special deals and talk with
friends and travel agents. Jason will probably not attend to all holiday information; however, he is likely
to be exposed to information he will never consciously perceive or pay attention to. He must identify what
he has perceived – is it an ad or something else? – and then determine what country or mountain resort is
involved, all as part of the comprehension process. He might infer that Thredbo is a reasonably priced holiday
destination because a website shows information consistent with this interpretation, for example.

Memory and knowledge

Source: © Diageo

Whether Jason can store what he learns about ski resorts in his memory – and
whether he can recall that information later – depends, in part, on his MAO. As he
learns something new about ski resorts, he will organise that knowledge according
to categories such as ‘places to stay on a ski holiday’. Jason will also associate
each new piece of information with other concepts he knows, such as ‘expensive’
or ‘eco-friendly’. Note that Jason may store information in memory, but his choices
will be based only on the information that can be retrieved from memory – a key
point for marketers seeking to create strong brand images and develop memorable
communications (see Figure 1.7).

Forming and changing attitudes

Jason is likely to form attitudes towards the holidays he has categorised and
comprehended. He may have a favourable attitude towards Kitzbühel in Austria
because a website describes it as affordable, educational and fun. However, his attitudes
might change as he encounters new information. Also, attitudes do not always predict
behaviour. For example, although many of us have a positive attitude towards working
out, our attitude and our good intentions do not always culminate in a trip to the gym.
For this reason, attitudes and choices are considered separate topics.

FIGURE 1.7 » FORMING AND RETRIEVING

MEMORIES
The process of making decisions
As shown in the mind map diagram at the start of the chapter, the processes that are
In this ad, Bundaberg Rum plays on Australian heritage
and history to draw consumers in and to prompt them part of the psychological core are intimately tied to the process of making decisions.
to consider its products. It is also attempting to have This domain involves four stages: problem recognition, information search, decision
consumers associate the product with Australian
heritage, thereby forming new associations in consumers’ making and post-purchase evaluation.
long-term memory.

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 13

Problem recognition and the search for information

Problem recognition occurs when we realise that we have an unfulfilled need. Jason realised that he needed a
ski holiday, for example. His subsequent search for information gave him insight into where he might go, how
much the holiday might cost and when he might travel. He also examined his financial situation. Elements
of the psychological core are invoked in problem recognition and search because once Jason realises that he
needs a holiday and begins his information search, he is exposed to information, attends to and perceives it,
categorises and comprehends it, and forms attitudes and memories.

Making judgements and decisions

The psychological core is also invoked in making decisions. Because holidays generally are high on MAO, Jason
will be motivated to be exposed to lots of information, think about it deeply, analyse it critically and form
attitudes about it. He may have lasting memories about this information because he has thought about it so
much. Consumers are not always aware of what they are thinking and how they are making their choices, so
Jason might not be able to explain what affected his choices (background music in a travel agency might even
be an influence).60 Yet the emotions he thinks he will experience from different options (excitement, relaxation)
may well influence his ultimate choice.61 For products that invoke low MAO, such as what brand of toothpaste
to buy, he would probably engage in less information search and process information less deeply, resulting in
less enduring attitudes and memories.

Making post-decision evaluations

This step allows the consumer to judge, after the fact, whether the decision made was the correct one and
whether to purchase that offering again. When he returns from his holiday, Jason will probably evaluate the
outcome of his decisions. If his expectations were met and the holiday was everything he thought it would be,
he will feel satisfied. If the holiday exceeded his expectations, he will be delighted. If it fell short of them, he will
be dissatisfied. Once again, aspects of the psychological core are invoked in making post-decision evaluations.
Jason may expose himself to information that validates his experiences, he may update his attitudes and he
may selectively remember aspects of his trip that were extremely positive or negative.

The consumer’s culture: external processes

Why did Jason decide to go on a skiing trip in the first place? In large part, our consumption decisions and
how we process information are affected by our culture. Think of the last time you went grocery shopping.
It might seem like a ‘simple’ task, but your preference for Coles and your choice of a specific brand are all in
some way shaped by your partner’s or family’s influences, and even broadly from culture. Culture refers to Culture
The typical or expected
the typical or expected behaviours, norms and ideas that characterise a group of people. It can be a powerful behaviours, norms and ideas
influence on all aspects of human behaviour. Jason had certain feelings, perceptions and attitudes because of that characterise a group of
people.
the unique combination of groups to which he belongs and the influence they have on his values, personality
and lifestyle.

Reference groups and other social influences

When Jason sees groups of others he perceives as similar to himself, he regards them as reference groups, Reference group
A group of people consumers
people whose values he shares and whose opinions he respects. He might also want to emulate the behaviour compare themselves with
of people whom he admires and to listen to the advice they offer through word of mouth (in person, on Facebook, for information regarding
behaviour, attitudes or values.
on Twitter etc.). Athletes, musicians and movie stars sometimes serve as reference groups, influencing how we
evaluate information and the choices we make (see Figure 1.8). Reference groups can also make us feel as if we
should behave in a certain way. Jason may feel some pressure to go to Thredbo because his friends think that
doing so is cool.

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 14 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

Diversity influences
Alamy Stock Photo/The Advertising Archives

Jason is a member of many regional, ethnic and religious groups that

directly or indirectly affect the decisions he makes. For example,
although his decision to ski at a place far from home is fairly typical
for a man launched on his career, a consumer from a developing
nation or a single woman from a different culture may not have had
the same luxury of travelling far away even for a holiday. Also, his age,
gender and educational background may all affect his impressions
of what constitutes a good holiday, accounting for his interest in a
ski trip. Consider the holiday choices shown in Table 1.2 and try to
imagine the background factors that predispose consumers to choose
these as holiday options. The word ‘holiday’ means different things
to different people. Can you see how factors such as social class,
ethnic status, lifestyle, economic conditions, group affiliations and
gender affect the kinds of holidays that appeal to us? The examples
in Table 1.2 show that some marketers are successful because they
understand what their customers value.

Household and social class influences

Because Jason is a member of the upper middle class and lives with
his parents, these household and social class influences may affect
his decision to go to a luxurious European ski resort with friends
rather than join his family at a rustic ski area near home.

FIGURE 1.8 » INFLUENCE OF REFERENCE GROUPS Values, personality and lifestyles

The choices Jason makes are based, in part, on his beliefs, his
Reference groups are people whose values we share and whose opinions we
value, as evidenced in this TAG Heuer ad featuring Chris Hemsworth. personality, and his activities, interests and opinions. Therefore, he
may be attracted to a European ski trip because he wants a holiday
that he thinks will be exciting and out of the ordinary. He also
anticipates that this holiday will test his ability to manage on his own and give him a sense of accomplishment.

TABLE 1.2 » HOLIDAY CHOICES

On holiday, would you like to …
Learn how to walk on the moon? Space Camp is the place for you! You’ll experience the weightlessness of space flight, launch a rocket
and take a simulated trip to Mars or the Moon. The price for would-be astronauts (adults and children alike) is $699–$899 per week.
Volunteer in turtle conservation in Costa Rica? Take a conservation holiday to Costa Rica. Through Oyster Worldwide, you can take
the ultimate beach holiday that combines the golden sands of Costa Rica with a turtle conservation trip. Step off the beaten path while
helping protect both baby and adult turtles from extinction. Prices start at $1700 for one week.
See where penguins play? On a National Geographic cruise, you’ll start from the tip of South America and sail through Drake Passage.
Then you’ll travel by kayak along Antarctica’s edge, home to penguins, whales and other marine life. If your itinerary includes the
Falkland Islands and South Georgia, you’ll pay up to $45 000 (airfare is extra).
Sources: Based on information from http://www.spacecamp.com, https://www.oysterworldwide.com and http://www.expeditions.com

Consumer behaviour outcomes and issues

As the mind map diagram at the start of the chapter shows, the psychological core, decision-making processes
and the consumer’s culture affect consumer behaviour outcomes such as the symbolic use of products and the
diffusion of ideas, products or services through a market. They also influence and are influenced by issues of
ethics and social responsibility.

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 15

Consumer behaviours can symbolise who we are

The groups we belong to and our sense of self can affect the symbols or external signs we use, consciously Symbols
External signs that consumers
or unconsciously, to express our actual or desired identity. For example, while skiing, Jason may wear a use to express their identity.
Kathmandu coat and Ray-Ban sunglasses to communicate his status as an experienced skier or someone
who appreciates style. He might also take home objects, such as postcards and T-shirts, that symbolise his
holiday.

Consumer behaviours can diffuse through a market

After Jason makes his holiday decision, he may tell others about his prospective trip, which, in turn,
could influence their holiday decisions. In this way, the idea of going to Thredbo on holiday, for example,
may diffuse or spread to others. If Jason resists going to Thredbo (perhaps because he thinks it is too
expensive or too far away), he might communicate information that will make others less likely to
holiday there. Therefore, the diffusion of information can have both negative and positive effects for
marketers.

Consumer behaviour, ethics and social responsibility

Sometimes consumers face potentially conflicting priorities: they try to balance an immediate outcome
against a long-term outcome or try to balance their own interests against the interests of others.
For instance, a consumer who steals may acquire something right away, but the long-term outcome
is personally risky and also problematic to society. Similarly, marketing decisions may involve
conflicting priorities and sometimes lead to ethical questions, such as whether marketing efforts
promote obesity, whether advertising affects self-image and whether marketing invades consumers’
privacy.
On the other hand, both consumers and marketers can and do use marketing for constructive purposes,
balancing short- and long-term horizons plus the interests of themselves and others. These efforts by marketers
and consumers may be relatively narrow – focusing on satisfying the needs of a particular consumer segment
– or much broader, such as protecting the environment or improving the community. In the example of Jason
choosing a ski holiday, he might decide to stay at an eco-friendly resort that conserves water and uses energy
from clean sources. Or he may decide to buy his gear secondhand on eBay or from a retailer that is transparent
about its environmental impact.62

LO3 WHO BENEFITS FROM STUDYING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR?

Why is it important to study consumer behaviour? The reasons are as varied as the three different groups who
use consumer research: marketing managers, public policymakers and regulators, and consumers. All of these
careers involve an intimate understanding of how consumers acquire, use and dispose of products and therefore
a study of consumer behaviour can help you beyond university.

Marketing managers
The study of consumer behaviour provides critical information to marketing managers for developing
marketing strategies and tactics. The American Marketing Association’s definition of marketing shows why Marketing
The activity, set of institutions
marketing managers need to learn about consumer behaviour:
and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering
Marketing is the activity, set of institutions and processes for creating, communicating,
and exchanging offerings with
delivering and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners and value for individuals, groups
society at large.63 and society.

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16 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

As this definition makes clear, marketers need consumer behaviour insights to understand what consumers
and clients value; only then can they develop, communicate and deliver appropriate goods and services. See the
Appendix to this chapter for more about marketing research.

Public policymakers and regulators

Understanding consumer behaviour is crucial for legislators, regulators and government agencies in developing
policies and rules to protect consumers from unfair, unsafe or inappropriate marketing practices. In turn,
marketers’ decisions are affected by these public policy actions. Consider the regulatory limits on tobacco
marketing that are designed to discourage under-age consumers from smoking and to inform consumers of
smoking’s health hazards. The United States, Canada and many other nations already ban cigarette advertising
on TV and radio. In Australia, plain tobacco packages are required by law, which involves the removal of all
branding but the placement of visually depicted health warnings.64
Understanding how consumers comprehend and categorise information is important for recognising and
guarding against misleading advertising. For instance, researchers want to know what impressions an ad
creates and whether these impressions are true. They also want to know how marketing influences consumers’
decisions to comply with product usage instructions, such as using medical treatments as prescribed.65 And
consumer behaviour research helps government officials understand and try to improve consumer welfare.66

Consumers and society

Understanding consumer behaviour enables marketers and other organisations to provide tools for more
informed decision-making. For example, research indicates that we better understand the differences among
brands when we can view a chart, matrix or grid comparing brands and their attributes.67 Therefore, matrices
such as those presented in the US-based Consumer Reports Magazine or on its website (https://www.
consumerreports.org) are likely to help many consumers make better decisions.
Product, service and communications developments to protect certain consumer segments have also grown
out of understanding how consumers behave. Many people want to protect children against inappropriate
advertising or guard themselves against invasions of privacy. Some companies have changed their marketing
voluntarily, whereas others have waited until legislators, regulators or advocacy groups forced them to make
changes. Finally, a better understanding of consumer behaviour can pave the way for programs that benefit
society. As discussed in Chapter 8, research on disposition behaviour has the potential to aid recycling programs
and other environmental activities, just as research on charitable donations can help non-profit groups design
communications to attract contributors.

LO4 MARKETING IMPLICATIONS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

As you learn about consumer behaviour, you may wonder how marketers use different consumer behaviour
insights. Starting with Chapter 2, you will find numerous sections titled ‘Marketing implications’ that illustrate
how marketers apply consumer behaviour concepts in the real world. There will also be sections titled
‘International considerations’ and ‘Digital media considerations’ that demonstrate to you the importance
of understanding how consumer behaviour may differ around the world, as well as recent computerised and
technological advances that are shaping consumer behaviour today. In general, consumer research helps
marketers to develop product-specific plans, as well as broader strategies for market segmentation, targeting
and positioning, and to make decisions about the components of the marketing mix.

Developing and implementing customer-oriented strategy

The goal of marketing is to provide value to customers. Value is not simply about the cost of a product but
how valuable consumers see the product to be. As such, marketers can exert a great deal of influence on such
subjective valuations, but so can consumers’ friends, families and other social influences such as their social
class. Therefore, marketers must conduct research to understand the various groups of consumers within the
marketplace so that they can develop a strategy and specific offerings that will provide such value. Once they

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 17

develop and implement a suitable strategy, marketers need research to determine how well it is working and
whether it is delivering the expected results (such as increasing market share or improving profits).

How is the market segmented?

What one consumer values in a product may not be the same as what another consumer values. Consider the
market for orange juice, which can be offered from concentrate, fresh squeezed, with other juices and in other
combinations. For example, Berri offers several orange juice products. Its Mildura line is primarily an orange
and mango-flavoured beverage with only 25 per cent real fruit juice, but its Australian Grown brand is 100 per
cent freshly squeezed juice, not from concentrate. Why do this? Why offer the Mildura line when it is clear
that the Australian Grown brand is healthier? The answer is that different consumers have different needs and
preferences. Price is certainly a factor in many decisions, but so is how different consumers value orange juice
compared to, say, apple juice and their lifestyles. Clearly, research helps marketers understand the different
groups that make up a market and whether they can make an offering to appeal to one or more of these groups.

How profitable is each segment?

Consumer research can help marketers identify consumers who have needs that are not being met and can
reveal the size and profitability of each segment. For example, have you ever considered how the iPhone you
have in your hands came about? Steve Jobs announced the first iPhone on 9 January 2007. At this point in
time, cell phones only had a number pad and a small screen to show the number you were calling. But Apple
conducted considerable research and found that there was a sizeable segment of consumers who were willing
to pay more for a handheld device that would allow them to connect with their friends and family through other
channels. This gave birth to the iPhone that offered various apps, communication capabilities and enhanced
media offerings, which make the product still hugely popular today.68

What are the characteristics of consumers in each segment?

After determining how the market is segmented and whether it is potentially profitable, marketers need to
learn about the characteristics of consumers in each segment, such as their age, education and lifestyle. This
information helps marketers project whether the segment is likely to grow or shrink over time, a factor that
affects future marketing decisions. For example, sales of fitness goods and services are expected to rise as
ageing baby boomers strive to stay fit.

Are customers satisfied with existing offerings?

Marketers often do considerable research to learn whether consumers are currently satisfied with the company’s
offerings and marketing. For example, Harley-Davidson executives regularly ride with members of the Harley
Owners Group to find out firsthand what satisfies motorcycle buyers and what else they are looking for. They
also invite customers to submit their own videos online illustrating individual Harley-Davidson experiences
and ask social media users to comment on proposed ad campaigns. This research helps the company to come up
with new product ideas and new ways to promote motorcycles to current and potential customers.69

Selecting the target market

Understanding consumer behaviour helps marketers determine which consumer groups are appropriate targets
for marketing tactics and how heavy users of a product differ from light users.70 Marketers also need to identify
who is likely to be involved in acquisition, usage and disposition decisions. Australian apartment builders such
as Meriton, for example, are interested in the trend of multigenerational families living in a single apartment
because of how culture and societies have evolved. The company also knows that some, if not all, of the family
members will want some say in the apartment purchase and therefore the homes must have features that will
appeal to all the relatives involved in the decision.71

Developing products
Developing goods and services that satisfy consumers’ wants and needs is a critical marketing activity.
Marketers apply consumer research when making a number of decisions about products and branding.

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18 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

What ideas do consumers have for new products?

First, marketers need to design an offering that matches what consumers in the target market want. As noted
earlier, sometimes customers collaborate with marketers or with each other on the development of innovative
new offerings. The jewellery firm Swarovski is one of many companies that have used online competitions to
tap the creativity of their customers in designing new products.72 Many Australian brands such as Australia
Post and Nestlé Australia have turned to social media channels for new product innovations and advertising
ideas. And because social media does not limit itself to Australia, ideas for the local market can come from
around the world. Recent ads for Pop Tops, for example, were inspired by a millennial living in Australia.73

What attributes can be added to or changed in an existing

offering?
Marketers often use research to determine when and how to modify or tailor a product to meet the needs of new
or existing groups of consumers. For example, Australia Post knows that many engaged couples still send printed
wedding invitations through the mail instead of communicating with friends and relatives electronically. To
supplement its regularly updated series of stamps, Australia Post also offers personalised stamps whereby
couples can upload their own photos and have it printed on stamps for use in their wedding invitations.74

How should the offering be branded?

Consumer research plays a vital role in decisions about choosing a brand and differentiating it from competing
brands and from other brands in the company’s product portfolio.75 For example, the Japanese automaker
Nissan once marketed cars under the Datsun brand, but it eliminated that brand in favour of its corporate name,
Nissan, in 1981. Later, the company introduced Infiniti to brand its luxury autos and distinguish them from
its other cars. As Nissan eyes sales opportunities in emerging markets, it is bringing back the Datsun brand
for small, low-priced cars to be sold in Russia, India and Indonesia. This strategy allows Nissan to maintain a
separate brand image and positioning for each of these product lines.76

What should the package and logo look like?

Many marketers use consumer research to test alternative packaging and logos. Research shows, for instance,
that consumers are likely to think that food (including cookies) is good for them if it comes in green packaging.77
This information is valuable in the design of packages for products with a ‘healthy’ positioning. Research is also
vital in decisions about changing packaging and logos.

Positioning
Another strategic choice is deciding how an offering should be positioned in consumers’ minds. The desired
image should reflect what the product is and how it differs from the competition. For example, the Dreamworld
theme park on the Gold Coast is positioned as a fun place for Australian consumers who want to ride roller-
coasters and experience thrills without leaving the country. This positioning is in contrast to Disney theme
parks in the United States that were designed specifically to attract customers from around the world and not
just those living in California or Florida.

How are competitive offerings positioned?

Marketers sometimes conduct research to see how consumers view other brands in comparison with their own
and then plot the results on a graph called a perceptual or positioning map. Brands in the same quadrant of the
map are perceived as offering similar benefits to consumers. The closer companies are to one another on the
map, the more similar they are perceived to be and hence, the more likely they are to be competitors. Marketers
can use perceptual maps to determine how their offerings can be positioned as distinct and different from
competing offerings, based on appeals that are sustainable over time.78

How should our offerings be positioned?

Companies use consumer research to understand what image a new offering should have in the eyes of
consumers and what messages will effectively support this image.79 The positioning should suggest that the
product is superior in one or more attributes valued by the target market.80 For example, Nestlé Australia’s head

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 19

of marketing used consumer research to better understand Australian coffee habits and preferences in order to
position its Nescafé products locally. Through its research, Nestlé Australia identified Chinese Australians as a
potential market and it positioned itself as a sought-after gift during Chinese New Year.81

Should our offerings be repositioned?

Consumer research can help marketers reposition existing products (i.e., change their image). In 2000, Australian
airline Virgin Blue was created, operating two aircraft on the Sydney–Melbourne route. Rapid growth over the
next decade saw the fleet expand to 91 aircraft, where operations were conducted under a portfolio of brands
including Virgin Blue, V Australia, Pacific Blue and Polynesian Blue. Despite such growth, the company was
struggling as a low-cost, budget airline and was bleeding dollars. In 2010, the company shed all brands and
renamed itself Virgin Australia, adopting cleaner brand colours and a sleeker, more stylised brand logo. From
2010 to 2015, the aim of the rebrand was to avoid costly fare wars with its major rival Qantas and focus on
service delivery. The result was that, by 2019, Virgin Australia was able to post a $64.4 million profit, its best
performance since the 2010 rebrand.82

Making promotion and marketing communications

decisions
Research can help companies make decisions about promotional/marketing communications tools, including
advertising, sales promotions (premiums, contests, sweepstakes, free samples, coupons and rebates), personal
selling and public relations. One area receiving attention is the use of techniques to measure consumers’
physiological and neurological responses to marketing communications.83 The rise of social media adds
another twist to promotion and communications decisions.84 Word of mouth – which spreads quickly through
social media – that is not marketer-controlled, although it may be marketer-initiated, seems more credible to
consumers than messages directly controlled by marketers.85

What are our advertising objectives?

Consumer research can be very useful in determining advertising objectives. It may reveal, for example, that
few people have heard of a new brand, suggesting that the advertising objective should be to enhance brand-
name awareness. If research indicates that consumers have heard of the brand but don’t know anything about
it, the advertising objective should be to enhance brand knowledge. If consumers know the brand name but
don’t know the characteristics of the brand that make it desirable, the advertising should aim to enhance brand
knowledge and encourage positive attitudes about it. And if consumers know neither the brand name nor the
product’s benefits, the advertising should educate the target market about both.

What should our advertising look like?

Research can help marketers determine what words and visuals – and what balance of text and images – would
be most effective for ad and brand recognition and recall.86 A brand name is better remembered when placed
in an ad that has interesting, unusual and relevant visuals. If the visuals are interesting but unrelated to the
product, consumers may remember the visuals but forget the product’s name. Moreover, marketers can research
how different groups respond to different wording. For example, saying a product is good ‘value for the money’
does not work in Spain. Instead, Spanish marketers use the phrase that literally translates to ‘price for product’
in English.87
Online advertising is also being researched. One finding, for instance, is that customising email messages
for targeted customers is an effective way to boost visits to the brand’s website.88 Another study showed that
both emotion and physiological arousal are factors in whether an online ad goes viral. Specifically, an ad is more
likely to be spread virally when the content evokes a positive emotional response (such as awe) or a negative
emotional response (such as anger).89

Where should advertising be placed?

When marketers select specific media vehicles in which to advertise, they find demographic, lifestyle and
media usage data very useful. As noted earlier, research shows that more people split their time among many
different media and that many people use recording technology to avoid commercials. Knowing this, marketers

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20 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

are choosing media with better targeting or more consumer exposure in mind. For example, Ford has used video
ads on Facebook’s log-out page to promote its sporty Mustang car, taking advantage of the ability to target
by location, gender and age.90 A growing number of firms are using the sponsorship of cause-related events
(such as ME Bank sponsoring the Mother’s Day Classic for breast cancer research) that attract the interest of
consumers in the targeted segments.91

When should we advertise?

Research may reveal seasonal variations in purchases due to weather-related needs, variations in the amount
of discretionary money consumers have (which changes, for instance, before and after Christmas), holiday
buying patterns and the like. In the weeks leading up to Easter, for instance, you will see many ads from local
bakeries and supermarkets advertising their hot-cross buns. But did you know that you can actually buy hot-
cross buns throughout the year? Hot-cross buns are typically seasonal, in demand around Easter, so you will
only see ads for them at this time of the year.92

Has our advertising been effective?

Finally, advertisers can research an ad’s effectiveness at various points in the advertising development process.
Sometimes marketers or ad agencies conduct advertising copy testing or pretesting, testing an ad’s effectiveness
before it appears in public. If the objective is creating brand awareness and the tested ad does not enhance
awareness, the company may replace it with a new ad. Effectiveness research can also take place after the ads
have been placed in the media, such as conducting tracking studies to see whether ads have achieved particular
objectives over time.

What about sales promotion objectives and tactics?

When developing sales promotions, marketers can use research to identify sales promotion objectives and
tactics. For example, when Snack Factory, based in the United States, wanted to attract new customers to its
Pretzel Crisps snacks and increase sales, the company posted a $1 coupon on Facebook for two weeks. This
promotion added 7000 new Facebook fans and, more importantly, the rate of redemption of the coupons was
87 per cent. Without fanfare, Snack Factory switched to a ‘buy one, get one free’ coupon on Facebook. The new
offer went viral, gaining Pretzel Crisps 15 000 new fans in two weeks – plus an impressive 95 per cent coupon
redemption rate. Now the brand has more than 200 000 ‘likes’ and regularly conducts contests, coupons and
other sales promotions on the social media site.93 Research can also prevent such pitfalls as offering coupons to
certain consumers who won’t redeem them for fear of looking stingy.94

Have our sales promotions been effective?

Consumer research can answer this question. Marketers might compare sales before, during and after a
promotion to determine changes in sales. Research can also indicate whether a free sample has been more
effective than a price promotion, whether a free gift enhances value perceptions and purchase intentions, and
how consumers react after a sales promotion has been discontinued.95

How can salespeople best serve customers?

Finally, research can help managers make decisions about salespeople. By tracking store patronage at different
times of the day or on different days of the week, retailers can determine the appropriate number of store
personnel needed to best serve customers at those times. Research also offers insights into selecting salespeople
and evaluating how well they serve customers. For example, similarity between the consumer and a salesperson
or service provider can influence whether customers comply with these marketing representatives.96 Other
studies indicate that how a salesperson presents a product will affect consumers’ attitudes towards the
salesperson and what consumers learn about the product.97

Making pricing decisions

The price of a product or service can have a critical influence on consumers’ acquisition, usage and disposition
decisions. It is therefore very important for marketers to understand how consumers react to price and to use
this information in pricing decisions.

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 CHAPTER 1 > Understandin g consumer behavi o u r 21

What price should be charged?

When making a purchase, consumers consider how much they must pay in relation to the price of other relevant
brands or to the price they previously paid for that product, so marketers must be aware of these reference
prices.98 When buying multiple units of a service for one bundled price (such as a multiday ski pass), consumers
may not feel a great loss if they use only some of the units because they have difficulty assigning value to each
unit. In addition, when consumers buy multiple products for one bundled price (such as a case of wine), they are
likely to increase their consumption because unit costs seem low.99
According to research, how much consumers will pay can even be affected by the price of unrelated products
they happen to see first. Therefore, the price you would be willing to pay for a T-shirt may vary, depending on
whether the prices you noticed for shoes in the store next door were high or low.100
Finally, studies indicate that consumers have differing perceptions of what a product is worth, depending
on whether they are buying or selling it. Sellers should therefore avoid this endowment effect; that is, they
should not set a higher price than buyers are willing to pay.101

How sensitive are consumers to price and price changes?

Research also suggests that consumers have different views of the importance of price. Some consumers
are very price sensitive, meaning that a small change in price will have a large effect on consumers’
willingness to purchase the product. Other consumers are price insensitive and are therefore likely to buy
an offering regardless of its price. Marketers can use research to determine which consumers are likely
to be price sensitive and when. For fashion or prestige goods, a high price symbolises status. Therefore,
status-seeking consumers may be less sensitive to a product’s price and pay more than $50 for a T-shirt
with a prestigious label.

When should certain price tactics be used?

Research also reveals when consumers are likely to be most responsive to various pricing tactics. For example,
American consumers have traditionally been very responsive to price cuts on bed linens during January. These
‘white sales’ are effective because consumers have come to anticipate them at that time of the year. Similarly,
approximately 5 million American consumers buy new TVs specifically to watch the Super Bowl every year.
Knowing this trend, online and store retailers mount price promotions in the weeks leading up to the Super
Bowl, aiming to get their share of these TV purchases.102

Making distribution decisions

Another important marketing decision involves how products are distributed and sold to consumers in retail
stores. Here, too, marketers can use consumer research.

Where and when are target consumers likely to shop?

Marketers who understand the value consumers place on time and convenience have developed distribution
channels that allow consumers to acquire or use offerings whenever and wherever it is most convenient for
them. For example, 24-hour supermarkets, gyms, catalogue mail ordering and online ordering systems give
consumers flexibility in the timing of their acquisition, usage and disposition decisions. The supermarket chain
Tesco in the United Kingdom operated a supermarket chain called Home Plus in South Korea. Knowing that
many commuters have little time to shop, it set up virtual stores inside busy train stations (see Figure 1.9).
These ‘stores’ are actually large posters showing shelves stocked with frequently purchased items, each
featuring a QR (quick response) code. While they wait for the next train, commuters use their smartphones
to scan the QR code of items they want to buy, complete the transaction and schedule delivery for when they
know they will be home.103

What do customers want to see in stores?

Retailers want to carry the assortment of merchandise best suited to consumers who shop in their stores.
Walmart in the United States invites consumers to watch videos submitted by companies that have developed
new products. Because consumers vote for the items they would like to see in their local Walmart store, the
retailer gains insight into its customers’ preferences and can expand its merchandise assortment accordingly.104

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22 P A RT O N E > A N IN TR ODU CTION TO CONSU MER BE HAVIOUR

Source: AP Images/Imaginechina

FIGURE 1.9 » TARGETING WHERE CONSUMERS SHOP

Marketers need to understand how and when consumers best shop. For instance, busy consumers can do a supermarket shop using
their smartphones on these boards in subway stations, which is very convenient for them.

How should stores be designed?

Supermarkets are generally designed with similar or complementary items stocked near one another
because research shows that consumers think about items in terms of categories based on products’ similar
characteristics or use. Therefore, stores stock peanut butter near honey because the products are often used
together. Consumer research can also help marketers develop other aspects of their retail environments.
Studies show that bright colours and up-tempo music make consumers move quickly through a store; subdued
colours and quiet music have the opposite effect.105
Store design also depends on whether consumers are shopping for fun or seeking to quickly
accomplish a particular task such as buying a certain item.106 During the back-to-school shopping season,
for instance, Target stores display school products together for consumer convenience.107 And in line with
the shopping-for-fun point made above, Target is building cafes into their stores so that families can relax
and enjoy their time while busy shopping.108 Knowing that some consumers simply like to shop, retailers
are increasingly creating more exciting and aesthetically pleasing store environments.109 For example, in
Shanghai, the distinctive glass exterior, spiral staircase and gleaming white logo of the Apple store has
made such an impression on shoppers that some competitors have opened look-alike stores elsewhere
in China.110
Stores and retail websites can be designed to convey a very specific image and for friendly functionality
on devices used by targeted consumer groups. After the Apple iPad became popular, many retail sites
redesigned their web pages to look better on a tablet computer screen and to be sure features worked properly
on all touch-screen devices, including mobile phones. The apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch even added
an online playlist so customers who shop via the Internet can click to hear the same songs that play in its
stores.111

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Another random document with
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who kissed Innocent in a business-like manner, and then turning, raised her
cheek to her brother, who was about three times as tall as she was.
“So here you are,” said Miss Vane, “fifteen minutes late, as that train
always is. Quick, come in, Reginald, there is tea in the parlour. I have only
time to say a word to you before chapel. This way, my dear, follow me; the
passage is rather narrow, and there are two steps, just at the most unlikely
places—but you will get used to it in time.”
Thus talking she led them in to a large low room, with great beams
across the roof, and a multiplicity of small windows, deeply recessed in the
thick old wall. There was a great open fireplace, with a few logs of wood
burning on the hearth, and a little white-covered table with tea, standing
before it; this table, and the easy chair, and a number of books, were the
only modern things in the room. It was panelled with dark oak, and had,
consequently, nothing of the brightness of the modern English rooms which
Innocent knew; neither was it like the spare and lofty magnificence of those
Italian apartments which had once been familiar to her. There were some
small but rare pictures on the walls, and some portraits. Vane looked round
it with the familiar satisfaction of one who returns to an old home.
“Thank heaven, whatever you have done to the rest of the house, Letty,”
he said, “you have spared my mother’s old room.”
“Yes,” said Miss Vane, “I am far from perfection yet, if I ever attain to it.
I don’t expect I shall. It is not the drawing-room now, it is only the parlour;
but beyond that sacrifice I can’t go any further, which is contemptible. So
this is Gilbert Vane’s daughter? Innocent, my dear, you are very welcome. I
like you for your name. Reginald and I had a sister Innocent. You must try
to like me and be happy here as long as your aunt will let you stay. Sit down
and pour out some tea for yourself and him;—I must go off to chapel. You
are excused to-day, as your train is late. Take care of the child, Reginald,
and see she has some tea. I must be off or else I shall be late as well. Very
glad to see you both. Au revoir in half an hour.”
She went on talking till she reached the door, when she disappeared, still
talking and waving her hand. Her brother followed her with his kind eyes.
“Dear old Letty!” he said, “I told you we should see her in all her glory.
Sit down, Innocent, and warm your poor little hands, and take your tea.”
With this brief advice he left her, and went round the room, looking at all
the pictures, the books, everything about. Innocent sat down as she was bid
in the great easy chair. She poured out the tea as she had been bid, for
herself and for him. A soft sensation of well-being stole over her; the
sweetness of the mignonette outside, the tinkling of the bell, the sunshine
which slanted in through the deep, small windows, and the soft warmth of
the fire, all soothed the girl; but what soothed her most was the charmingly
matter-of-fact way in which she had been received, in which she had been
bidden to do this and that. No response, no emotion had been required from
her; there was no cause for emotion; she was told what to do, and left to do
it in peace. Her fright went away in this quiet moment; her whole nature
was soothed; here was the place for her; now she knew and saw, and the
terrors of the change fled away. She did not care for the tea, and probably
would not have taken it, but that she recollected suddenly that she had been
told to do so, on which recollection Innocent sipped and was glad. The
afternoon was sweet, the rest and quiet were sweet after so much confused
motion and vision; and it was sweet to be no longer frightened, to feel the
excitement and the terror over. She did not know how long it was till the
children began to stream again past the windows, and Miss Vane came
back; but even then no call was made upon her. She was allowed to sit in
peace while the others talked, pleasant family talk, playful discussions,
inquiries after one and another. Innocent paid very little attention to the
subject of the conversation, but it was a pleasant sound in her ears, and the
very air of the gentle house was pleasant. Then Miss Vane took her to one
of the little rooms, with the shining casements, up-stairs, where pale roses
were still looking in at the window, and showed her where to put her things,
and told her at what hour she must be ready in the morning, and all that was
done at the High Lodge. It was the beginning of a new life to the wondering
girl. No more indulgence, consultation of her wishes—she who had no
wishes! but gentle control, absolute rule, matter-of-fact kindness—nothing
but obedience required of her; and that was the easiest thing to give.
Miss Vane, however, as it turned out, was as much pleased with Innocent
as Innocent was with Miss Vane. After one day with his sister, which,
perhaps, in the circumstances, was enough for both, John Vane set off to
pay various visits, promising to return again for Innocent, and warning his
sister only to keep her apart from “the Frederick Eastwoods” and Mr.
Batty’s house in Sterborne. This Miss Vane cheerfully agreed to do without
any question; for, certainly, it was very undesirable that a relation of her
own should have any intercourse or connexion with Mr. Batty’s daughter.
The religious vocation of the mistress of the High Lodge did not make her
indifferent to the claims of family. Religious vocations seldom do; a well-
born woman is well-born in a Carmelite cloister as well as in a king’s court,
and generally thinks quite as much of it in the one region as the other. It
seemed accordingly a perfectly simple matter that Innocent should be
permitted to accept no invitation from Mrs. Frederick Eastwood; and indeed
no such invitation came. Otherwise things went on with the most perfect
comfort between the girl and her new relation. She did not talk much, it is
true; she was not interested, as Miss Vane expected her to be, in the upper
school, where half-a-dozen “daughters of gentlemen” were being educated
in one wing of the old house; or the lower school, where children who had
no gentility to boast of were being trained in another; or in the orphanage,
even though she herself was an orphan, and might have been supposed
likely to “take an interest” in the young creatures—girls like herself, who
found refuge there. Innocent went through the whole establishment, making
no remark. When asked if she liked it, she said Yes: when asked if she was
tired, she said No: when asked if she would like to see something more, she
said Yes again. She smiled upon the little children, and said ma sœur to the
sisters when they spoke to her, which pleased them. She was everything that
was docile, gentle, and obedient, and she grew in a few weeks to look
stronger and better than she had ever done in her life; but she did not
become more communicative. One thing, however, Innocent did which
found high favour in everybody’s eyes. She would go and sit for hours
together in the little chapel, with her eyes fixed upon the pictured Christ (an
old Italian picture, full of true early Italian sentiment for the divine and
holy) which was hung over the altar. The chapel was low, like the house, an
old Early English building in good repair, but homely as became its date,
with low windows, filled with grisaille glass, dim and silvery. Here
Innocent would sit, taking no note of time; it felt to her like the little church
of the Spina over again; and here, as there, she said “Our Father,” vaguely
reverential, and sat in a soft quiescence, scarcely thinking—happy, she
knew not why. The habit she thus showed commended her to the
community beyond expression. She was so Catholic, so pious, so saintlike,
they said; and indeed Innocent in those gentle days made the first great
success of her life. It was the pause before the storm.
 CHAPTER XXXI.

THE MINSTER AND THE VILLA.

“I must take you to see the Minster, Innocent,” said Miss Vane. “You
cannot be in this part of the world without seeing the Minster. You will be
quite happy in it, you who are so fond of church. Put on your hat and your
cloak, and be ready when the carriage comes round. I have got a number of
visits to make and things to do; but as I know you can make yourself happy
in the Minster while I am busy, I will take you with me. Have you ever seen
any of our great Gothic cathedrals? Then you will be perfectly happy, child;
you will feel this day an era in your life.”
Little thought Lætitia Vane what she was saying. The unconscious
prophecy came lightly from her lips, and was received by Innocent with a
smile. She was not excited by the prospect of seeing the Minster, but she
was pleased to go, to do what she was told, to be with the kind but arbitrary
mistress, who had brought harmony into her life. She put on her hat,
smiling, looking at herself in the glass, which was not very usual with her.
She had gained some colour on her pale cheeks, her eyes were brighter, her
whole aspect more life-like. It was a fresh October morning, warm in the
sunshine, though a sharp little chill of autumn wind met them occasionally
at a corner, promising a cold evening.
“We must take care not to be late coming back,” said Miss Vane,
throwing an additional shawl upon Innocent’s lap before she got into the
little carriage, and took the reins. Miss Vane herself wore no conventional
costume; she had not abandoned the pleasant things of this life. She wore
rich silks, moaning over her own imperfection, which never could attain to
the virtue of serge, and was fond of her pretty ponies and her pleasant little
carriage. They had a cheerful drive into Sterborne, Miss Vane pointing out
everything on the way, and naming every house they passed, Innocent
paying little attention, yet listening to all that was said to her, and enjoying
in her passive way the air, the sunshine, the rapid movement. Things no
longer seemed to rush past her, moved by some dreadful whirl of their own,
but it was she who was in motion, lightly, cheerfully—the centre, not a
passive object in the scene. This, which she could not have explained for
her life, but which she felt vaguely yet strongly, made the greatest
difference to Innocent. She was more alive than she had ever been before in
her life.
Miss Vane took her over the Minster, rapidly pointing out all the chief
wonders; and then left her, seated within sight of the high altar, to enjoy
what everybody at the High Lodge supposed to be meditation of the
devoutest kind.
“You will be quite happy here,” Miss Vane said, kissing her softly, and
feeling, with warm compunctions for her own worldliness, how superior
was her young relation. She stopped at the door, ere she went about her
many businesses, to point out Innocent to the chief verger, and commend
her to his care. “I will come back in about an hour and a half,” she said.
Thus Innocent was left alone.
I do not think she had ever been left entirely alone before, save on the
one occasion of her visit to the Methodist chapel, since she had been under
her aunt’s care, and the sensation was sweet to her,—quite alone, silent, no
one interfering with her, free to do as she would, to be still, without
speaking, without feeling, without thinking. The solemn nave of the
Minster, the lovely, lessening arches of the apse, the silvery glow of the
painted glass in the windows, made no special impression upon her for
themselves. As she sat silent they mingled in a confused but grateful calm
with the little church of the Spina—the lingering memories of her past life.
Subdued steps came and went about her as in the other little sanctuary by
the Arno; the light was subdued as by the influence of the place; no sound
above a whisper was audible; gliding figures appeared in the distance, into
which she gazed, not, indeed, coming there to pray, as in Santa Maria, but
yet moving softly, with a certain reverence. No gleaming tapers on the altar,
no chanting priest interposed to furnish a background for her dreams; but
Innocent scarcely felt the want. She said her prayers, kneeling down, all
unconscious of observation, on the stone pavement. She sat down again in a
hush of soft and peaceful feeling—to dream? No, nor even to think. The
mind of this poor little Innocent had no need for any exercise; she rested,
before the fiery coming of her fate.
It was not till the verger, much bewildered by a stillness of attitude to
which he was quite unused, came to ask whether the young lady would like
to see the chapter-house, or the crypt, or any of the special sights of the
Minster, that the girl was roused. She rose then, always acquiescent, smiling
upon the old man. But as she turned round, Innocent’s eye caught a figure
much more interesting to her than the verger’s. It was Frederick, who turned
round at the same moment, and came forward to her, holding out both his
hands. “Ah, Innocent, at last!” he cried. There was real pleasure in his face.
“Miss Vane has left me here to wait for her,” said Innocent, “but, oh, I
am so glad to see you!” It seemed to her that she had found him again—that
all the intermediate time had glided away, that she was in the church of the
Spina, and he, her new-discovered only guardian and protector again.
“I am glad that you are glad,” said Frederick. “I thought you might have
forgotten all about us among the Vanes. How is it that they neglect you like
this? I suppose you are the poor relation there, Innocent, eh? You never
were so at The Elms.”
“I do not know what you mean,” said Innocent; but she put her hand
within his arm, with her old use and wont, looking up at him brightly with
her soft smile. The verger looking on, felt that, perhaps, it was his duty to
interfere, but had not the heart to do it.
“You’ll find me in the porch, Miss, if you want me,” he said. If the
young lady had met with some one as she liked better than them Papistical
nunnery-folks at the High Lodge, was it his business? He went away
heavily, dragging his feet upon the pavement, as ecclesiastical attendants for
ages and ages have dragged them, with stooped shoulders and shuffling
gait; and the two, whom he thought lovers, were left alone.
They were not lovers, far from that; but Innocent clung to the arm of the
first man whom she had ever identified and felt any warm personal regard
for, and Frederick looked down upon her with a complacency which half
arose from a vain belief that she loved him, and partly from a real kindness
for his little cousin, and partly from a sensation of thankfulness to have
some one belonging to him to look at and speak to—some one not of the
terrible Batty tribe, to which he was bound until Monday morning. This was
Saturday, and he had been imperatively summoned to visit his wife, who
was still ill. He could not get back until Monday morning, and the thought
that this terrible moment of duty might be softened by the presence of
Innocent, who adored him, was sweet. He told her that Amanda was ill in
bed, not able to come out with him, or to be his companion. “I cannot spend
my whole time with her,” said Frederick, “and her father is more odious
than I can tell you. You must come to see her; you must stay with me,
Innocent, till I go back.”
“If Miss Vane will let me,” said Innocent, brightly.
“You would like it? You were always a dear girl. When I take you home
with me, Innocent,” said Frederick solemnly, “you will learn a lesson which
I have learnt too late, that it is a fatal thing to connect one’s self with people
of a different class from one’s own, who cannot understand one, whose life
is a contradiction to all one feels and wishes. I don’t speak, of course, of my
wife; that is my own affair; whatever I may have to put up with I say
nothing on that score to any one. But, Innocent, a man of honour has many
things to bear which women never know.”
These fine sentiments were wasted upon Innocent, who looked up at him
wondering, and received what he said docilely, but made no attempt to
understand. I don’t know why Frederick, knowing her well enough to be
aware of this, should have thought it necessary to make so solemn a
statement. He did it, perhaps, from the habit he had acquired of posing as a
victim to honour. He led her about the Minster, and showed her many things
which Innocent looked at with her usual docility, pleased to be with him, if
not much excited by anything else. She had been happy at the High Lodge,
but after all Frederick was her first friend, her discovery, and to be thus
alone with him, cared for by him, no one else interfering, carried her back
to the first startled awakening of her torpid youth. He was always kind to
her when she was thus thrown upon his care, and Innocent was happy, with
her hand clinging to his arm. When Miss Vane came to recall her to the
present, she looked with perhaps a warmer personal wish than had ever
been seen in her eyes before at her temporary guardian, pleading for the
granting of the request which Frederick made, with his very finest Charles
I. look, and melancholy gentlemanlike grace. Miss Vane, a busy woman,
had partially forgotten her brother’s warning about Mrs. Frederick. She
knew the young man before her had made a very foolish marriage, but still
he was an Eastwood, of prepossessing appearance, and a compunction
crossed her mind as to her want of civility in not “calling on” the daughter-
in-law of Innocent’s good aunt. A woman takes rank from her husband, not
from her father, Miss Vane reflected, and if this poor fellow had found out,
as might be guessed from his resigned manner, that he had made a terrible
mistake, it was only right that a connexion should stand by him as far as
was practicable. After a few difficulties, therefore, as to Innocent’s dress,
&c., she consented, promising to send the gardener with her bag, and to
drive in for her on Monday morning, “when I will take the opportunity of
leaving a card for Mrs. Eastwood. I am sorry to hear she is so poorly,” said
Miss Vane in her most gracious manner. Innocent could scarcely believe it
when she saw her energetic relation drive away, and found herself left in
Frederick’s charge. “I am to stay, then?” she said, with a smile which
lighted up her whole face; then added, with a faint shadow stealing over it,
“but with you, Frederick? I do not like—your wife——”
“You shall be with me,” said Frederick; “but, Innocent, you must not say
such things. It is imprudent—you might be misunderstood. I know very
well what you mean, and that, of course, it is impossible you should feel
towards poor Amanda as you do to me; but you must not forget what I have
told you so often, that a woman’s best policy is always to make friends with
her own sex. You are coming now, you understand, to visit my wife, who is
far from well; but I shall take care to have you a great deal with me.”
Innocent’s enjoyment was a little damped by this long speech; but as she
was still walking with Frederick, and had, as, yet, no drawback to the
pleasant sensation of being with him, the shadow flitted rapidly from her
face. He took her all over the village, showing her everything that was to be
seen, before he turned his step towards the Villa, where Amanda, fretful and
peevish, awaited him, longing for news, for change, for something to amuse
her. Frederick cared very little for the fact that his once-worshipped beauty
was now waiting for him. His little cousin, with her dreamy delight in his
society, her refined and gradually developing beauty, and the strange
attraction of her visionary abstractedness from the common world, was very
amusing and pleasant to him. The mere fact of not seeing her every day, as
he had been in the habit of doing, had made him perceive Innocent’s beauty,
and a mingled feeling, half wholly good, half dubious in character, inclined
him towards the girl who clung to him. She was very pretty and “very fond
of him,” which pleased his vanity highly, and made him feel vaguely self-
complacent and on good terms with himself in her company; and by the
side of this doubtful and not very improving sensation, the man, who was
not wholly bad, had actually a little wholesome, brotherly, protecting
affection for the child who had clung to him from the first moment of
seeing him. Thus they wandered through the village, round and round the
Minster, looking at everything and at nothing till the October afternoon
began to cloud over. “Now you must come and see Amanda,” said
Frederick with a sigh. Innocent sighed too. It seemed to her very hard that
there was this inevitable “Frederick’s wife” to be always the shadow to the
picture, to take him away from his family, to separate him from herself, to
worry and vex him whatever he was doing. Innocent hesitated at the corner
of the street.
“Are you sure I should go?” she said. “She will scold me. She will not be
kind like Cousin Lætitia or you. She does not like me, and I do not like her.
Shall I go back now? I have had all I wanted, Frederick; I have seen you.”
“That would never do,” said Frederick. “If it were known that you had
met me in the Minster and walked about so long with me, and then returned
without seeing my wife, people would talk—unpleasant things would be
said.”
“What could be said?” asked Innocent.
“Upon my life, one doesn’t know whether to laugh at you or be angry,”
cried Frederick, impatient. “Will you never understand? But, come along, it
is no use wasting words. Don’t you see you must come now?”
“I do not want to come. She will scold me,” said Innocent, standing
firmly, with a cloud upon her face. It was the first time she had openly
resisted him or any one. Poor child, was it some angel who stayed her feet?
She felt ready to cry, which was an unusual thing with her, and with a
frightened instinctive recoil, stood still, refusing to go on.
Poor Innocent! Safety and shelter, and the life of order and peace which
suited her half-developed faculties, lay calm and sunshiny on one side. On
the other was conflict, confused darkness and misery, pain and shame,
gathering in heavy clouds to swallow her up. For one moment it hung on
the balance which her fate was to be; terrible moment, which we, none of
us, divine, during which we have to exercise that great and awful choice
which is the privilege of humanity, in blindness and unconsciousness,
ignorant of the issues, stupid to the importance of the decision. This was
decided, however, not by Innocent. Impatient Frederick seized her hand and
drew it through his arm.
“This is folly,” he cried. “What you, Innocent! you be such a little traitor
and resist me and get me into trouble? No, no, come along. This is out of
the question now.”
Next moment he had knocked at his father-in-law’s door.
 The Villa looked very much as it had done the day that Frederick first
made his appearance there. The sun was still shining by intervals, but
glimmers of firelight came from the window, and the garden behind was
spare of flowers. Mr. Batty met them as they came in, and stared hard at the
girl whom Frederick led by the hand into the narrow light passage which
traversed the house from the street to the garden door. “This is my cousin,
sir, Miss Innocent Vane,” said Frederick. “I have brought her to see
Amanda. She is on a visit at the High Lodge, as you may have heard.”
“Oh, yes, I’ve heard,” said Batty, “and I think it’s time she should turn
up, the only one of your family as has ever come near my girl. You’re
welcome, my dear, better late than never; though I think, considering how
kind the Eastwoods have been to you, that you might have come a little
sooner to show Mrs. Frederick some respect.”
Innocent listened, wondering, to this address, gazing at the man whom
she had a confused recollection of having seen before. All that she
comprehended now was, more or less, that he was scolding her, though
about what she could not tell. He was a kind of man totally unknown to
Innocent—his thick figure, his coarse air, his loud voice and red hands,
surprised, without so much revolting her as they might have done, had her
organization been more perfect. She was frightened, but made an effort of
politeness to conceal it.
“Is she better?” she asked, not knowing what to say.
“You’ll see what she’ll say to you when she sees you,” said Batty to
Frederick with a chuckle, “and I don’t blame her, poor girl. If this is what
you call visiting your wife when she’s poorly, things have changed since my
day. It’s close on five, and nearly time for dinner, and you’ve been out since
the moment you swallowed your lunch.”
“I have been with my little cousin here, and Miss Vane of the High
Lodge, who is coming to call on Amanda on Monday,” said Frederick. “In
the meantime I took the liberty of inviting my cousin to stay with my wife
for a couple of nights. I hope it is practicable——”
“Oh, practicable enough,” said Batty, with a laugh. “I’m not one of those
as leaves themselves without a room to give to a friend. Plenty of
accommodation here for as many as you like to bring—and the more the
merrier, if they’re the right sort. Glad to see you, Miss Innocent. Training
up for your trade, eh?—at that old nunnery out there. Lord, to see that old
Lady Abbess in my house will be a sight! ’Manda will tackle her, I’ll be
bound. Walk up, walk up-stairs, Eastwood will show you the way; and he’s
sure of a warm welcome, he is. Ha, ha, ha, ha!”
Batty stood in the passage holding his sides, while Frederick, with
disgust on every line of his fine features, strode up-stairs. Innocent followed
her cousin wondering. What the man meant, whether he was merry, or
angry, or simply the most disagreeable strange man she had ever seen, she
could not make out. She remembered vaguely what Frederick had told her
so lately—what she had heard repeated on all sides at The Elms—that
Frederick’s wife was of “another class.” And the stairs were narrow, the
passage contracted, the maid who had opened the door not like the maids at
The Elms; and Batty’s dress, and appearance, and manner of speech very
different from anything Innocent had ever known before. This was what it
meant, then, to be of “another class.” Thus she followed with some new
speculations rising in her passive brain, into the presence of Frederick’s
wife.
 CHAPTER XXXII.

THE MOMENT OF FATE.

Frederick led Innocent to the door of a bedroom which opened from a
little gallery up-stairs. He paused there before he opened it.
“If we find Amanda in an excitable state, you must not mind it,” he said;
“you must not be frightened. Forgive her because she is ill. It is her way
——”
With these words of warning he opened the door. It was a pretty room
enough—meant to be luxurious—in a somewhat tawdry style of decoration,
yet tolerable, in so far that its rose-coloured hangings and heavy fringes
were fresh at least, and in good order. Amanda was in bed, with a blue
dressing-gown over her shoulders, and her elaborately-dressed hair adorned
with a small lace cap. Nothing could be gayer than the composition of
colour, her own rose-cheeks and golden hair, the bright blue garment in
which she was clothed, and the blue ribbon in her little cap, all relieved
against the rose-coloured hangings. A perfect Watteau, some one had told
her, this composition made, and, though she did not know what a Watteau
was, she felt it must be something fine, and kept up the successful
combination. Her cheeks were not pale, but flushed with anger, impatience,
and excitement. She burst forth almost before Frederick had come into the
room.
“This is how you visit your wife, is it, Mr. Frederick Eastwood?—Three
mortal hours have I been left alone without a creature to speak to but aunty.
How dare you face me after that? how dare you? I have a hundred minds
never to speak to you again——”
“That would be to punish yourself more than me, my dear,” said
Frederick, with the conventional speech of the injured husband.
She looked at his careless smile, and her fury increased.
“I should like to throw something at you,” she cried. “You cold, wicked,
careless, unprincipled wretch! Was it for this you married me, and
pretended to be fond of me? Was it for this you took me from my father,
who was always so kind? Was it for this——”
 “Of course it was for all that,” said Frederick, advancing to the bedside.
“We have gone through the list before. Amanda, try to keep your temper; it
will be the best thing for you. Here is Innocent, whom I found in the
Minster, and who has come to pay you a visit. Miss Vane is coming on
Monday to fetch her; and if you play your cards well——”
Amanda interrupted him by a shrill laugh.
“Oh, so here is Innocent! and the old nun is coming?—a great deal I
care! This is how you try to hoodwink me. Innocent, come here! How long
has he been walking about with you, talking, and holding your hand, and
turning your head, you little fool? You think he cares? He cares as much for
you as he does for me; he cares for no one but himself. Oh, go away, or I
shall throw something at you! Go away, or——”
She had put out her hand to clutch at a glass which stood by her on a
little table.
“Go! Go!” cried some one from behind the curtain.
Frederick made a rapid step to the door, but before he had reached it his
wife’s mood had changed.
“Oh, you tell him to go, do you?” she cried. “Then I tell him to stay.
Come here, Innocent; you shall stay and nurse me; I know you’ll like it;
and, Fred, turn that woman out—turn her off, turn her out of doors. She has
been my plague ever since I can recollect. Oh, you thought you would keep
me all to yourself, did you, and get the better of me? but I haven’t got a
husband for nothing. Fred, turn her out of doors.”
Frederick opened the door with servile haste. He dragged the poor aunty,
the souffre-douleur of the household, out by the sleeve, escaping himself
along with her. Amanda leant back upon her pillow, laying her hand upon
her breast.
“How hot it is,” she said, panting. “Open the window—take this fan and
fan me; can’t you make yourself useful? Oh, you are well named; you are a
true Innocent! If you will tell me all that he was saying to you, I will forgive
you. Tell me what he said.”
“He told me that I was to come and see you; that I was not to be
frightened,” said the girl, who was trembling, yet not confused by mental
dread, as she had sometimes felt on less occasion.
“And are you frightened?”
 “N—no.” She spoke with a little hesitation, but still succeeded in making
this answer. She did not shrink from Amanda’s blazing red-hazel eyes. The
excited creature somehow did not alarm her. She had done all that Amanda
had told her with the happy habit of instant obedience, which she had
learned at the High Lodge, and kept fanning her, according to her orders, as
she spoke.
“You are very odd,” said Amanda, whose passion was over. “But you
know how to fan one; not like that woman who saws the air like a windmill.
You may take off your hat and sit down by me. I have a hasty temper. I
sometimes say things and do things I am sorry for; but I’m very good-
hearted. There, sit down and let us have a talk. Weren’t you glad to get off?
Don’t you hate that old cat, with her sermons and her prayers? So she is
coming to call?—what an honour, to be sure, for me! But I think the
Eastwoods can hold up their heads as high as the Vanes any day—and she’s
nothing but an interloper. Why, John Vane’s father bought that house,” said
Amanda; “it is no more an old family place than this is. I am glad you are
going to stay. If you are a good girl, I will try what I can do for you, and
make a friend of you. I never could make a friend of that little stuck-up
Nelly. What airs she does give herself to be sure! and not so much to be
proud of. Why, that wretched little Molyneux, that she thinks such great
things, is no better than a shopkeeper’s grandson. I know the judge’s father
was a jeweller in Brook Street, and there is nothing so very grand in having
a judge in the family, unless you were going to be tried for your life, and
wanted him to get you off——”
“Can judges get people off?” said Innocent. Heaven knows why she
asked such a question! It was an echo rather of her companion’s last words
than said by any free-will of her own. But Frederick heard it as he came in,
and so did poor aunty, who stood outside, trembling at the door.
“Of course they can, you little stupid. It is all they are good for,” said
Amanda, benignantly. “Oh, you may come in. I am such a soft-hearted
ninny, I always forgive people when my passion is over. And none of you
ought to cross me; you know you oughtn’t. Some of these days, if you don’t
mind, just to punish you I shall die——”
She laughed and laid her head back upon the pillow, with her blue
ribbons and blue gown thrown sharply out by the rose-coloured bed. She
was amused by her own threat. But passion and self-indulgence had made
great havoc in the undisciplined creature, and to a serious looker-on that
menace would have seemed not so unlikely as Amanda thought, to come to
reality. Her breath came quick and with difficulty, heaving her breast at
every respiration. A high hectic colour was on her cheek, and the
cheekbones themselves which bore these dangerous roses were sharpened
by the wasting processes of continual excitement. Innocent stood all this
time by the bed, fanning her slowly and steadily. She was getting tired, but
did not think of stopping till she was told. Her visionary looks, and the
mechanical occupation which was so much more natural to her than
anything of a visionary character, contrasted strangely, as she stood thus
docile, always passive, by that bed. I suppose she would literally have gone
on for ever, like an Eastern slave, had no one interposed.
This steady service pleased Amanda hugely. She took full advantage of
it, keeping the girl employed until her very arm was drooping with the
fatigue of the monotonous motion; and she was so generous as to allow
Frederick to sit down and tell her “the news.” Frederick had brought down,
as in duty bound, a few scandalous anecdotes from the fountain-head of
gossip—anecdotes circumstantialized by date and name, but probably as
false as was the taste that desired them. He made, indeed, a few demurs at
repeating these wonderful pieces of history before Innocent, which were
speedily silenced by his wife.
“Innocent is paying no attention. She never listens to what any one
says,” cried Amanda, “and, besides, no one thinks of that sort of old-
fashioned nonsense nowadays. Go on——”
In this edifying way the time was spent till dinner. Amanda declared that
she never felt better, that she would certainly get up next day. “And I’ll go
to church at the Minster if there is a good anthem,” she said, “and you shall
give me your arm, Fred, and everybody will think us a model couple.” This
last outburst of amiability was called forth by a delightful piece of scandal
about what the newspapers called a very elevated personage, and which
Frederick vouched for as authentic. Mrs. Frederick, whose “set” were of
those who called the heir to the throne by the name of his principality tout
court, was altogether conciliated by this delightful communication.
Innocent, as Amanda said, paid very little attention. She listened yet did not
listen, half pleased that Frederick seemed pleased, half wondering, by an
instinct which was more penetrating than reason, that he should be satisfied,
and should take so much trouble to keep Amanda in good temper. Innocent
was not observant, she was not conscious of any faculty of criticism in her
own undeveloped mind; she made no voluntary contrast between Frederick
in this fretful sick chamber trying to please, and Frederick at home,
contemptuously indifferent to what any one did or said. Only a little vague
wonder at him rose in her mind; her sense of Mrs. Frederick’s imperfections
was not more distinct than the mere feeling of personal dislike—dislike
which was not softened by this sight of her, or by the exacting and selfish
demands she made upon everybody. Innocent was born to obey. She did
what Miss Vane had told her with the most docile unquestioning readiness,
and with the consent of her whole being; and she did also whatever Mrs.
Frederick told, but with how different a feeling. That she could have
explained the difference to herself, or that she even fully defined and
recognized it, I am far from asserting; but the fact that she was conscious of
this difference was at least a proof of the expanding of her mental powers.
Mrs. Frederick consented that her husband and Innocent should leave her
to go to dinner, with reluctance, but she did consent. Before the meal was
over, however, they heard loud and repeated knockings on the floor above,
signals of her impatience. Frederick was in a state of unusual exhilaration,
perhaps excited by finding the weary evening pass less disagreeably than he
thought—for Innocent, passive as she was, was yet a shield between him
and his coarse father-in-law; and even Amanda’s knocking, as he was out of
her reach, did not disturb him.
“Come round the garden with me while I smoke my cigar,” he said, “and
then you can go to her.”
The evening was soft and warm and mellow, with a large full October
moon less white than usual, throwing broad beams of the palest gold over
the dark garden. Batty watched them go out with doubtful eyes, unable
quite to keep himself from vulgar interpretations of Innocent’s submission
to her cousin, yet confident in the power of “my girl” to retain her
husband’s devotion, and caring very little about the other. Besides he was
flattered in spite of himself that Innocent should be there under his roof.
Two great families, the one more “stuck up” than the other, seemed thus to
be holding out an olive branch to him, and already Batty felt himself
mounting the steps of social grandeur. He sat over his port, meditating on
the moment when he could change that drink for more natural brandy and
water—when another vehement assault upon the floor overhead roused
him.
 “She’ll make herself worse than ever,” Batty said to himself; and going
to the stairs he shouted in his great voice, “Steady there, steady, ’Manda.
She’s a coming; she’s a coming.” Then he went out into the garden to seek
the other two. The grass was wet with dew, the leaves, which had begun to
change colour, showed like flowers in the moonlight. He followed the soft
sound of sauntering steps along two or three windings of the path. Then he
came in sight of the pair he sought; Frederick was walking along
indifferently enough, smoking his cigar, with one hand thrust into his
pocket! Innocent by his side held his arm so cavalierly and carelessly bent
with her hand. She went along by him like his shadow; she looked up at
him with a half smile upon her face, to which the moonlight lent an aspect
of deeper and more impassioned self-devotion than Innocent knew.
Frederick, in low tones, and with now and then a demonstrative gesture of
the disengaged hand with which he sometimes took his cigar from his lips,
was laying down the law about something. Probably he was inculcating that
first duty of woman, to “consider me, not yourself,” or some other equally
plain and fundamental principle. The sight struck Batty with a certain
jealousy by reflection. So intimate a conversation could scarcely be without
somehow infringing upon the rights of “his girl.” Had it been Frederick’s
sister, probably he would have had the same feeling; but in that case he
would have been less at liberty to interfere.
“Hollo!” he said, “don’t you know Mrs. Frederick is all alone, while you
two are gallivanting and philandering here? Come along, Miss; you’re safer
with my ’Manda than with that young spark. I know him better than you do.
Come along, come along, or she’ll bring down the house; and not much
wonder either if she saw as much as I see—but I’ll tell no tales,” he said,
with a coarse laugh.
Innocent stood bewildered with the sudden shock—for at the moment
that Batty’s voice became audible, Frederick, with an instinctive movement,
cast her off from his arm. To her who knew no wrong, who thought no evil,
this movement was simply incomprehensible. He was angry, that could be
the only reason; but why, or with whom? She stood turning her wandering
looks towards Batty, towards the house, with its lighted windows, the
moonbeams pouring over her, lighting up her raised face, with its wistful
gaze. Frederick, as an expression of his feeling, tossed away the end of his
cigar.
 “We were coming in,” he said. “Innocent, perhaps you had better go
first, and let me know if I’m wanted. I am tired. Tell Amanda I have got
some letters to write, office work which I was obliged to bring with me.
Batty, suppose you order some coffee, and let me get to work,” he added,
carelessly leading the way into the house. He left Innocent to follow as she
might, and to deal with Batty as she might. He had put up with him long
enough; he saw no reason for exerting himself further now.
“Confound his impudence!” said Batty. “Now, Miss, come along. You’d
best stay with ’Manda, if you’ll take my advice, while you are here.”
“If you please,” said Innocent, with a sigh.
“Oh, if I please—you’d rather be with him, eh? Pleasanter ain’t it?” said
Batty, with a grin of airy raillery.
“Yes,” said simple Innocent. “I know Frederick, and I don’t know you.”
A courteous instinct which she could not have explained kept her from
adding that she did not like Mrs. Frederick, which was her usually
unconcealed sentiment. She added quite gravely, altogether unaware that his
laugh had anything to do with her, “if I am to go to Frederick’s wife, will
you show me the way?”
Batty led the way without another word—he was curiously impressed by
her gravity, by a certain solemn simplicity about the pale creature, who
stood there facing him in the moonlight impervious to his gibes. He took
her to his daughter’s room, and looked in, giving Amanda a word of
warning. “Keep your temper, ’Manda,” he said; I do not know that he could
have explained why.
This was what Amanda was little inclined to do. She assailed Innocent
with a storm of questions; what had she been doing? where had she been?
“I have been in the garden with Frederick,” said the girl, with that
serious and quiet calm, which already had so much impressed Mrs.
Frederick’s father.
“In the garden with Frederick! and you tell me so with that bold face!
What was he doing? what was he saying? oh, I know him, and his false
ways,” said the excited wife; “making you think all sorts of things, you little
fool—and then sending you to me with your innocent face. Innocent,
indeed! Oh, no; I didn’t call—I don’t want you. Innocent, to be sure! You
are a pretty Innocent for the nunnery; just the sort of creature to go there if
all tales be true—to learn to deceive—as if you wanted teaching! You never
thought of me lying up here, while you went wandering about the garden
with Frederick—nor he didn’t, neither. Who cares for me? I was everything
that was sweet before I married, but now much he cares. Oh, if I just had
him here to tell him what I think of him! Call him to tell him what I think of
him—both him and you!”
Innocent had never been thrown upon her own resources before. She was
not prepared for the emergency, and had those who loved her best foreseen
the possibility of such a trial for her she never would have been allowed to
risk it; but in the meantime it did her good. A certain curious practical
faculty had been developed in her by the life of rule and order at the High
Lodge. She went forward to the bedside with her visionary look, but the
most serious matter-of-fact meaning, ignoring the passion as completely as
if it did not exist; which, indeed, to her it did not, being a thing beyond her
range of perception.
“You make yourself ill when you are angry,” she said, seriously, looking
down upon Amanda’s worn and flushed countenance; “it makes you very
ill; it would be far better not to be angry. When you scold me I am sorry;
but it does not make me ill. It hurts you most. You should stop yourself
when you feel it coming on; because, perhaps, when you are scolding you
might die—and it would be better to live and not to scold. I have thought
about it, and that is what I think.”
Amanda was aghast at this speech—it subdued her as if a baby had
suddenly opened its mouth, and uttered words of wisdom. She gave a gasp,
half of wonder, half of terror, and felt herself checked and subdued as she
had never been in her life before. The effect was so strange that she did not
know what to make of it. She tried to laugh, and failed; finally, she said,
“What an odd girl you are!” and settled down among her pillows, calmed in
spite of herself. “Read to me,” she said, after a little pause, thrusting a book
into Innocent’s hand. The calm was as sudden as the storm. The moment
that she was told to do something definite Innocent resumed her usual
obedient frame of mind, after this the longest speech she had ever made,
and the most completely independent mental action she had ever been
conscious of. She sat down and read, opening the book where she was told,
pursuing without a question the course of a foolish story. She never thought
of asking who or what were the personages she suddenly began to read
about; she took the book as she had taken the fan, and used it in a similar
way. And then there followed a curious little interval of calm. Amanda had
prepared herself for the night while the others were at dinner; she had taken
off her blue dressing-gown and her pretty ribbons; she was all white now,
ready to go to sleep when the moment came. The room had been partially
darkened for the same reason. Behind the curtain at the head of the bed was
a lamp shaded from the eyes, but the other lights had been taken away, and
the profound quiet grew slumbrous as Innocent’s soft voice rose through it,
reading steadily and gently with a certain sweet monotony. I cannot tell how
long Innocent continued reading. The calm grew more and more profound;
no one came near the room; Amanda’s retirement was not invaded.
Innocent herself grew drowsy as she listened to her own voice; it rose and
fell with a gentle, but incessant, repetition; sometimes she would almost fall
asleep, stumbling over the words—and then, as Mrs. Frederick, who was
drowsy too, stirred and murmured at the cessation of the voice which acted
upon her like a lullaby, the girl would resume her reading, startled into
wakefulness. Once or twice poor aunty, who had been banished from the
room, put in her head noiselessly at the door, and withdrew it as gently,
seeing that all was still. Batty himself once did the same; but the household
was too glad of the unusual stillness to do anything to disturb it. At length
the soft girlish voice, after repeated breaks and faltering recommencements,
dropped altogether, and Innocent fell fast asleep, with her head leaning
upon the back of her chair, and the book in her clasped hands. She and the
lamp by which she had been reading and the little table covered with
medicine phials, were separated from the sleeper in the bed by the dropped
curtain, which threw a rose-coloured reflection over Amanda in her sleep;
this lasted for an hour or two, during which the patient and the young
attendant who was so little used to watch, slept peacefully with but the veil
of this curtain between them. Then Amanda began to stir. Her sleep was
always broken and uncertain; the poor aunty to whom she was so cruel had
accustomed her to constant and unfailing attendance—and when she woke
and called and saw no one, sudden wrath flamed up in Amanda’s bosom.
Gradually the circumstances came back upon her mind, and plucking back
the curtain she saw poor Innocent quietly sleeping, her hair falling in the
old childish way about her shoulders, and her dark eyelashes resting on her
cheek, which looked so pale under them. Amanda did not care for the weary
grace and abandon of the girl’s attitude, nor was she at all touched by the
thought that Innocent had been occupied in her own service to her last
moment of consciousness. Mrs. Frederick, on the contrary, was furious to