Chapter 4:
Consumer behaviour and
consumer decision making
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this chapter, you should be able to
• provide an overview of consumer behaviour
• explain the importance of understanding consumer
behaviour
• discuss the internal factors that influence consumers’
behaviour and buying decisions
• discuss the external factors that influence consumers’
behaviour and buying decisions
• describe the types of buying decision that consumers
make
• discuss the stages in the consumer decision-making
process
• demonstrate your understanding of the theory
discussed in this chapter by providing practical
examples to illustrate any of the aforementioned
KEY CONCEPTS
• Attitude
• Brand personality
• Consumer behaviour/consumer decision-making
process
• External factors
• Internal factors
• Opinion leader
• Post-purchase behaviour stage
• Post-purchase dissonance
• Purchase intention
• Reference groups
4.1 INTRODUCTION
• You have been a consumer since an early age and have
evolved as a consumer as you matured
• Consumer behaviour is an integral part of your
everyday life
• It describes how you select and evaluate products or
services
• Understanding consumers’ behaviour and their
decision making has become vital to marketers
4.2 IMPORTANCE OF
UNDERSTSANDING
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
• In order for a business to survive, it is important for
them to know their customers
• When businesses continue to fulfil consumers’ needs
with their market offering of products/services, this will
lead to satisfied consumers who remain loyal and
continue to make purchases
4.3 FACTORS INFLUENCING
CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Factors that influence consumer behaviour are
• Internal factors
• External (group) factors
FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Internal factors
• Motivation is what pushes you to make a purchase
• Perception (the impression you have) may be a reason
why you prefer to shop at one retail outlet and not
another
• All individuals possess the ability to learn about which
products they like and don’t like
• Attitudes towards certain brands may influence your
decision as to which item to buy
• What type of personality you have can affect your
choices
FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
External (group) factors
Family
• Four structure types:
1. One-person household
2. Nuclear household
3. Extended household
4. Single-parent household
• The various roles of family members:
– The initiator – starts the buying process
– The influencer – has an opinion other family
members value and take into account when buying
– The decision maker – makes the decision to buy
or not
– The purchaser – exchanges money for the
product/service
– The consumer or user – actually consumes the
purchase
FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
External (group) factors
Culture and subculture
• Black Diamonds – up-and-coming black middle class
in South Africa
– Four segments of the black middle class
1. The established
2. The young family
3.The start-me-ups
4.The mzansi youth
• Izikothane – a subculture and its activity within
townships
• Smarteez – from Soweto, and its members use fashion
as a means to express their subculture
FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
External (group) factors
Social class
• A social class refers to a group of people in society who
are classified on the basis of status and community
esteem and who regularly socialise among themselves,
both formally and informally
Reference groups and opinion leaders
• Consumers who share a set of norms, values or beliefs
and have certain implicit or explicit relationships that
make their behaviour interdependent. These groups
are known as reference groups
Activity:
Apply the factors that influence consumer
behaviour (both internal and external) to
a consumer buying a new house
4.4 TYPES OF CONSUMER
BUYING DECISIONS
Nominal decision making
• Buying decision involve little or no conscious effort
from consumers
• Consumers do not search extensively for information
about brands and evaluate few or no alternatives
• There is a low level of involvement with the purchase
• Little significant differences exists between brands
TYPES OF CONSUMER BUYING DECISIONS
Limited decision making
• This forms the middle ground between nominal
decision making and extensive decision making
• It generally occurs as a result of relatively low product
involvement and low levels of purchase risk
• Consumers search for internal information to assist in
decision making
• Consumers search for few alternatives
• Little post-purchase evaluation occurs
TYPES OF CONSUMER BUYING DECISIONS
Extended decision making
• This is the most complex type of consumer buying
decision
• It is used when consumers purchase unfamiliar and
expensive products or services
• There is a high level of purchase involvement and high
level of purchase risk
• Consumers engage in extended decision making when
they need to ensure that they are making the correct
buying decision
• Internal and external information seeking occurs
Activity:
Provide examples of nominal, limited and
extended decision making
4.5 STAGES IN THE
CONSUMER DECISION-
MAKING PROCESS
Figure 4.1 The consumer decision-making process
Stage 1: Problem recognition
• Consumers recognise a problem or realise that they
have an unfulfilled need
• Consumers experience a need when there is a gap
between their desired state and their actual state
Stage 2: Information search
• Consumers become aware of alternative products,
services and brands, the various retail outlets in which
they are sold and their different prices
• This search provides them with necessary information
to evaluate alternatives
STAGES IN THE CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Stage 3: Evaluation of alternatives
• Evoked set – this is the small number of brands that
consumers are familiar with, remember and find
suitable for purchase
• Evaluative criteria – consumers use information
stored in their long-term memories as well as
information obtained
Stage 4: Outlet selection and purchase
• This decides the where and when of the actual
purchase, based on the outcome of the previous stage
• Purchase intention is the consumer’s intention or plans
to purchase the most favourable brand
STAGES IN THE CONSUMER DECISION MAKING PROCESS
Stage 5: Post-purchase behaviour
• Post-purchase dissonance is doubt that consumers
may experience after they have purchased a product or
service
• This happens when they have made a difficult buying
decision or purchased an expensive product or service
Activity:
Apply the stages in the decision-making
process to a consumer purchasing a new
smartphone
4.6 CONCLUSION
• Consumers that make up South Africa’s consumer
market vary greatly in terms of several characteristics
such as age, income and education level
• Consumer behaviour and buying decisions are
influenced by various factors such as their perceptions
of their culture
