Chapter One
Introduction to Consumer
Behaviour
1. Introduction:
Consumer Behaviour Defined
Consumer Behaviour is a simple term that describes a multitude of mental and physical processes
associated with consumer decision making. It involves the way in which consumers deal with purchase
decisions in different contexts with the aim of satisfying their product needs and requirements.
Consumer Behaviour includes all the related activities of consumers and buyers of products from the
pre-purchase phase, through the actual purchase phase, to post purchase evaluation.
The contribution of multiple disciplines to the field.
A challenge of consumer behaviour as a field of study has had to acknowledge over time is its intricate
involvement with other disciplines that are all strongly associated with pertinent theoretical
perspectives and relevant theories. Howard and Seth (1968)’s textbook: period of increased awareness
of consumer needs in the marketplace.
The advantage of this interaction, however, is that it provides an opportunity to incorporate different
viewpoints in our understanding of consumer behaviour. The section that follows explains some of the
different theoretical perspectives.
Economic perspective
Consumers formulate needs and want in terms of concrete and rational criteria.
Allows for an investigation of consumers’ behaviour from a rational viewpoint. The viewpoint
assumes that consumers formulate needs and wants in terms of concrete and rational criteria. A
limiting assumption of the economic perspective is that consumers in a specific market are
homogeneous and essentially alike in nature. If this were true, it would be possible to anticipate the
buying decisions of South African consumers in a specific product category. For instance, from an
economic rational perspective, a person applying for a loan would also consider interest costs and
loan duration, which are concrete and rational fact about credit, before concluding a credit
transaction. However, evidence in the marketplace indicates the contrary. For example, a consumer
may think it is important to have a new dress for a special event and won’t worry about the interest
on the purchase price if the dress is purchased on credit.
Psychological Perspectives
Individual consumer traits play a role in dictating consumer preferences and behaviour at the
personal level.
Individual differences in consumer’s behaviour are accounted for through the incorporation of
psychological perspectives, which acknowledge individual consumer traits, for example: motivation,
, personality, attitude and perception, in terms of addressing consumers’ product preference and
consumer behaviour at the personal level. In marketing, the character of the brand is often
intentionally shaped in accordance with specific personality traits to attract specific market
segments, assuming that consumers would be lured by products or brands that might support or
enhance their personalities. For example, sportsman being drawn to products that are associated
with Wayne van Niekerk.
Customers are more inclined to buy luxury products to support their self-image and will avoid stores
that are not aligned with their self- image.
The psychological theory of ‘temporal choices’ explains this phenomenon by proposing that
temptation of immediate ownership of a product can exceed customer’s concerns about the
obligation of having to pay multiple instalments with interest in the future.
Sociological perspective and Socio-psychological perspectives:
Consumer socialization and group affiliation shape behaviour.
Symbolic interaction (human’s shared understanding and interpretation of meaning).
A consumer does not operate in isolation, which explains the relevance of sociological
interpretations of issues such as consumer’s socio-economic status lifestyle and socio-psychological
aspects of consumption. Consumer’s judge a product based on shared meaning that they attach to
certain images, brands or products, eg Luxury cars – BMW, Ferrari, these are well within socio-
psychological frameworks such as symbolic interactionism.
Cultural Perspectives
Allows us to understand the product needs of specific cultures and sub-cultures. Etic (considers
the viewpoints of other cultures) and emic perspectives (focus on one specific culture).
o Cultural Anthropology provides avenues with which to understand the consumption
behaviour and product needs of specific cultures and sub-cultures – nationalities, ethnic
groups, religious groups.
o It also provides theorical framework within to analyze and interpret cross- cultural
influences in societies, something which has become increasingly relevant in modern day
global societies.
o Globalisation has, to a large extent blurred boundaries, consumers across the world are not
same and probably never will be.
o An approach that considers the viewpoints of other cultures is known as an etic perspective-
studies the behaviour of different cultures. Etic perspective adopts the emic perspective
which focuses on the value and norms of a cultural group.
o Cultural perspective acknowledges long-term influences on consumers’ consumption
practices and accentuates a deeper understanding of the meaning of products, brands, and
symbols in a cultural context. In a plural society (consists of several cultural groups)
consumers contract new identities because they adopt new roles that they are exposed to
over time, thereby creating alternatives identities within brand cultures.
o A sensitive understanding of cultural values and taboos may help prevent disastrous
blunders in marketing, such as using a brand name that is offensive to a part of the
community or using colours that have contradictory meanings to different cultural groups.
Introduction to Consumer
Behaviour
1. Introduction:
Consumer Behaviour Defined
Consumer Behaviour is a simple term that describes a multitude of mental and physical processes
associated with consumer decision making. It involves the way in which consumers deal with purchase
decisions in different contexts with the aim of satisfying their product needs and requirements.
Consumer Behaviour includes all the related activities of consumers and buyers of products from the
pre-purchase phase, through the actual purchase phase, to post purchase evaluation.
The contribution of multiple disciplines to the field.
A challenge of consumer behaviour as a field of study has had to acknowledge over time is its intricate
involvement with other disciplines that are all strongly associated with pertinent theoretical
perspectives and relevant theories. Howard and Seth (1968)’s textbook: period of increased awareness
of consumer needs in the marketplace.
The advantage of this interaction, however, is that it provides an opportunity to incorporate different
viewpoints in our understanding of consumer behaviour. The section that follows explains some of the
different theoretical perspectives.
Economic perspective
Consumers formulate needs and want in terms of concrete and rational criteria.
Allows for an investigation of consumers’ behaviour from a rational viewpoint. The viewpoint
assumes that consumers formulate needs and wants in terms of concrete and rational criteria. A
limiting assumption of the economic perspective is that consumers in a specific market are
homogeneous and essentially alike in nature. If this were true, it would be possible to anticipate the
buying decisions of South African consumers in a specific product category. For instance, from an
economic rational perspective, a person applying for a loan would also consider interest costs and
loan duration, which are concrete and rational fact about credit, before concluding a credit
transaction. However, evidence in the marketplace indicates the contrary. For example, a consumer
may think it is important to have a new dress for a special event and won’t worry about the interest
on the purchase price if the dress is purchased on credit.
Psychological Perspectives
Individual consumer traits play a role in dictating consumer preferences and behaviour at the
personal level.
Individual differences in consumer’s behaviour are accounted for through the incorporation of
psychological perspectives, which acknowledge individual consumer traits, for example: motivation,
, personality, attitude and perception, in terms of addressing consumers’ product preference and
consumer behaviour at the personal level. In marketing, the character of the brand is often
intentionally shaped in accordance with specific personality traits to attract specific market
segments, assuming that consumers would be lured by products or brands that might support or
enhance their personalities. For example, sportsman being drawn to products that are associated
with Wayne van Niekerk.
Customers are more inclined to buy luxury products to support their self-image and will avoid stores
that are not aligned with their self- image.
The psychological theory of ‘temporal choices’ explains this phenomenon by proposing that
temptation of immediate ownership of a product can exceed customer’s concerns about the
obligation of having to pay multiple instalments with interest in the future.
Sociological perspective and Socio-psychological perspectives:
Consumer socialization and group affiliation shape behaviour.
Symbolic interaction (human’s shared understanding and interpretation of meaning).
A consumer does not operate in isolation, which explains the relevance of sociological
interpretations of issues such as consumer’s socio-economic status lifestyle and socio-psychological
aspects of consumption. Consumer’s judge a product based on shared meaning that they attach to
certain images, brands or products, eg Luxury cars – BMW, Ferrari, these are well within socio-
psychological frameworks such as symbolic interactionism.
Cultural Perspectives
Allows us to understand the product needs of specific cultures and sub-cultures. Etic (considers
the viewpoints of other cultures) and emic perspectives (focus on one specific culture).
o Cultural Anthropology provides avenues with which to understand the consumption
behaviour and product needs of specific cultures and sub-cultures – nationalities, ethnic
groups, religious groups.
o It also provides theorical framework within to analyze and interpret cross- cultural
influences in societies, something which has become increasingly relevant in modern day
global societies.
o Globalisation has, to a large extent blurred boundaries, consumers across the world are not
same and probably never will be.
o An approach that considers the viewpoints of other cultures is known as an etic perspective-
studies the behaviour of different cultures. Etic perspective adopts the emic perspective
which focuses on the value and norms of a cultural group.
o Cultural perspective acknowledges long-term influences on consumers’ consumption
practices and accentuates a deeper understanding of the meaning of products, brands, and
symbols in a cultural context. In a plural society (consists of several cultural groups)
consumers contract new identities because they adopt new roles that they are exposed to
over time, thereby creating alternatives identities within brand cultures.
o A sensitive understanding of cultural values and taboos may help prevent disastrous
blunders in marketing, such as using a brand name that is offensive to a part of the
community or using colours that have contradictory meanings to different cultural groups.
