Lecturer: Ambreen Bashir

College of Business Management

Institute of Business Management

Consumer Behaviour
Perception
Consumer Perceptions

 Perception is the process by which stimuli are

selected, organized and interpreted.
 Perception- process of giving meaning to
sensory stimuli
 Requires attention to a stimulus
 Perceptions- subjective understanding not
objective realities
 Repositioning
An overview of perceptual process
Elements/Sensory Dynamics of
Perception
 Sensory Input
 Stimulus
 Sensory Receptors
Perception?
Perception
Perception
Perception
Perception
Elements/Sensory Dynamics of
Perception
 Absolute Threshold – Minimum Level-’something’ or ‘nothing’
▪ Sensory adaptation-
▪ Ambush Marketing
▪ Experiential Marketing
 Differential Thresholds- Just Noticeable Difference (JND)- when
will a change be noticed.
 To be noticed? Not to be noticed?
 Subliminal Perception: beneath the threshold.
▪ 1957- Eat Popcorn and drink Coca Cola: Popcorn sales increased 48%
and coca-cola sales increased 18%
▪ Criticism: a vivid imagination can see whatever it wants to
see in any situation
Sensory Input – can be Interactive

 an interactive outdoor campaign for Ford. The "Ford Miracles" ads consists of interactive
posters that look at people and react to their actions. The voice and facial expressions of the
guy in the poster are controlled by an actor hidden in a booth nearby. The interactive billboards

were placed at the main train stations in Belgium

JND
Subliminal Perception
Really???
Perceptual Process

 Perceptual Selection:
 Perceptual Organization
 Perceptual Interpretation
Perceptual Selection

Selective Exposure: Consumers are very selective when

exposed to stimuli.
 Remember, most exposure is involuntary!
 Can you think of voluntary exposure?
▪ Exposure is selective also
▪ Sometimes consumers go out of the way to ignore some
messages
 Exposed to 300 ads. daily, 18,000 product faces in average
supermarket.
 Zipping, Zapping
 TV audience figs/rates all about exposure!
Nature of Stimulus
 Impetus to find novel
Factors in Stimulus
unexpected exposure
novelty,
points where consumers
humour
will be “ambushed”
e.g? sponsorship, airport contrast
carousels, bus shelters, movement
supermarket dockets, intensity
taxis, matches, parking isolation
fee dockets, aircraft etc. ambiguity
e.g. Bulbulay and Q-
mobile
Expectations

 People usually see what they expect to see,

and what they expect to see is usually based
on prior experience or a set of expectations.
Motives

 Selective attention to those stimuli that a

consumers needs.
 The stronger the need, the greater the
tendency to ignore unrelated stimuli in the
environment.
Expectations and Motives

 Individual determinants: Motives and goals

determine what we attend to
 perceptual vigilance , we tend to notice things
immediately that are important to us
 perceptual defence: we don't see what we
don't want to see
2. Perceptual Organization

Stimulus Organization-
 Categorization involves comparison between a
perceived stimulus and prior categorical knowledge
 Informs how we will interpret stimulus
 Gestalt psychology- totality of a set of stimuli rather
than from an individual stimuli
 Some concepts-
 Principles of Closure, Grouping, figure and ground
Closure: If enough of the shape is indicated,
people perceive the whole by filling in the
missing information.

Figure & Ground: In this image, the figure

and ground relationships change as the
eye perceives the form of a shade or the
silhouette of a face.

Proximity/Grouping: When the squares are

given close proximity, unity occurs. While
they continue to be separate shapes, they
are now perceived as one group.
Closure
Use of figure-ground by Post
Figure and Ground
3. Perceptual Interpretation

Perceptual Interpretation
Derived from prior knowledge as well
 Stereotypes
 Physical Appearances
 Descriptive Terms
 First Impressions
 Halo Effect
Consumer Imagery
Brand Image

 Positioning
 Brand image needs to be updated
 Competitive Advantage
 Use of colours, music, jingle, celebrity
endorsement etc.
Package Image
Service Image

 Services are intangible

 Image is key factor to differentiate
 Visual images and tangible reminders
Example????
Perceived Price

 Price Floor
 Price Ceiling
 Reference Price
 Psychological Price
 Discounts
Perceived Quality

 Perception of superior quality

 Products price
 Manufacturer
 Store Selling it
Perceived Price/Quality Relationship
Perceived Price/Quality Relationship

1. Bloomingdale’s designed by Donatella

2. Sold at Macy’s
3. Sold at Camicia (A store in NYC Soho District)
4. Sold by street vendors (made in china)
5. Sold at Barney’s under store’s name)
6. Sold at H&M designed by XAAS
Store Image and Perceived Quality

 Hyperstar
 Metro
 Naheed Supermarket
 Ebco
 CSD
 Chase Up
 Imtiaz
Manufacturer’s Image and Perceived
Quality
 Swatch vs. Rolex and Patek Phillipe
 Suzuki vs. Honda
 Apple vs. Qmobile
 Institutional Advertising
Perceived Risk

 Functional Risk
 Physical Risk
 Financial Risk
 Psychological Risk
 Time Risk