Introduction to

Consumer Behavior

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Intro to Consumer Behavior

• Consumer behavior--
what is it?
• Applications
• Consumer Behavior
and Strategy
– Elements of strategy
– Consumer Analysis
• Consumer behavior
outcomes
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One Definition

• Consumer behavior: the study

of individuals, groups, or
organizations and the processes
they use to select, secure, use,
and dispose of products,
services, experiences, or ideas
to satisfy needs and the impacts
that these processes have on the
consumer and society.

3
Applications of Consumer
Behavior

• Marketing Strategy
• Regulatory (Public)
Policy
• Social Marketing
• Personal Consumer
Skills

4
Orientations in the Study of
Consumer Behavior

• Anthropology
• Economics
• History and
geography
• Psychology
• Sociology

5
Anthropology

• The study of people

within and across
cultures
• Emphasis on cross-
cultural differences
• Questioning of
assumptions within own
culture
6
Economics
• Basic economic issues
– Supply and demand
– Rational decision making
– Perfect information
• Emphasis on predicting
behavior
• Complications in real life
• Behavioral economics—
e.g., “mental accounting”
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History and Geography

• Origins of behavior,
perspectives, and traditions
• Impact of geography on
individuals
– Isolation
– Language development
– Climate
• Geographic determinism

8
Psychology

• Study of human thinking

and behavior
• Some issues
– Personality
– Personal development
– Cognition (thinking),
perception
– Attention and its limitations
– “Learning”—e.g., acquired
tastes
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Sociology

• Cultural and
interpersonal
influences on
consumption—e.g.,
– Fads, fashions
– Diffusion of
innovation
– Popular culture

10
Marketing Strategy and
Consumer Behavior

MARKET MARKET
ANALYSIS SEGMENTATION

MARKETING CONSUMER
DECISION OUTCOMES
STRATEGY
PROCESSES

11
Market Analysis Components

• Consumers
• Firms
• Competitors
• Conditions
(environment)

12
Market Segmentation

• Product-related
need sets
• Segments:
customers with
similar needs and
responses
• Segment description
• Segment selection
13
Elements in Marketing Strategy

• Product
• Communications
• Price
• Distribution
• Service

14
Outcomes
• Firm
– Product • Society
position/perception – Economic
– Sales – Physical
– Customer satisfaction environment
• Individual – Social welfare
– Need satisfaction
– Injurious consumption

15
The Nature of
Consumer Behavior

• External
Influences
• Internal Influences
• Self-Concept
• Situations
• Experiences and
acquisitions

16
Why We Buy: Some Issues

• Questions academics answer relatively well:

Whether, how, why?
• Questions academics answer less well:
– How much?
– Which effect is stronger?
– What if…?

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Why We Buy Issues

• “Conversion” and “interception” rates

• The “Transition Zone”
• Thinking like a consumer who is in the
shopping setting!
• A note on exam questions from the text: You
need to have read the book to be able to
answer! (The answers are not obvious.)

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