lOMoAR cPSD| 45211451
Samenvatting Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing
Strategy - Hoofdstukken 13-18
Marketing voor Pre-master
,
, lOMoAR cPSD| 45211451
Marketing – Boek H13 t/m 18 voor midterm 2
Chapter 13 – Situational influences
Purchase decisions are based on situational influences:
All those factors particular to a time and place that do not follow from a knowledge of the stable
attributes of the consumer and the stimulus and that have an effect on current behaviour.
Consumer behaviour occurs within 4 broad categories or types of situations:
1. The communications situation: the situation in which consumers receive info has an
impact on their behaviour (alone/group, good mood/bad mood -> influences the degree
to which one sees and listens to marketing communications).
2. The purchase situation: the situation in which a purchase is made can influence
consumer behaviour (eg you are with someone you want to impress, the cue is very
long).
3. The usage situation: in different situations you prefer other products (eg coke on a
summer day and tea on a cold evening). -> Expanded usage situation can lead to major
sales gains.
4. The disposition situation: marketers need to understand how situational influences affect
disposition decisions in order to develop more effective and ethical products and
marketing programs (eg some consumers want ease of disposition -> choose for
recyclable products)
Situational characteristics and consumption behaviour
The situations discussed above can be described on a number of dimensions that determine their
influence on consumer behaviour. The 5 key dimensions are: physical surroundings, social
surroundings, temporal perspectives, task definition and antecedent states.
Physical surroundings
= Decor, sounds, aromas, lightning, weather and configurations of merchandise or other
materials surrounding the stimulus object.
=> Architecture, arrangement and assortment are influencers on consumer shopping
experiences.
Store atmosphere = the sum of all the physical features of a retail environment -> influence
consumer judgements of store quality, image, moods, willingness to visit and linger.
Atmospherics = the process managers use to manipulate the physical retail environment to
create specific mood responses in shoppers (also important online!)
Atmosphere in service business (hospital, bank, restaurant) = servicescape.
Eg physical environment at Starbucks is more important to the service experience than the
physical features of dry cleaners.
=> The relative importance of tangible physical features increase as one moves to extended,
hedonic consumption experiences.
1
, lOMoAR cPSD| 45211451
Social surroundings
= The other individuals present in the particular situation -> social settings influence the type
of product you purchase/use.
Embarrassment = a negative emotion influenced by both the product and the situation. (Eg
condoms, hearing aids -> embarrassment is driven by the presence of others in the
purchase/usage situation). => Marketers should come up with strategies that lessen the
embarrassment.
Temporal perspectives = Situational characteristics that deal with the effect of time on
consumer behaviour.
Less time there is available -> shorter information search -> less available info will be used ->
more suboptimal purchases will be made.
• Time pressure decreases perceptions of retailer service quality.
• Limited purchase time results in a smaller number of product alternatives being
considered. Time pressure increases brand loyalty (“known” products are
safe).
Task definition
= The reason the consumption activity is occurring (eg gift giving -> different shopping
strategies and purchase criteria vs shopping for the same item for self-use).
Antecedent states
= Features of the individual person that are nog lasting characteristics (such as momentary
moods or conditions, called antecedent states).
Moods = transient feeling states that are generally not tied to a specific event or object.
Eg happy, sad, depressed. Moods influence decision processes, the purchase and consumption
of various products, the communication process and perceptions of service.
Communication: mood levels influence the information-processing activities.
=> Marketers must pre-test their ads in contexts similar to their expected programming
environment
Positive mood -> increased browsing and impulse purchasing;
Negative mood -> increase impulse and compulsive purchasing in some consumers.
2
Samenvatting Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing
Strategy - Hoofdstukken 13-18
Marketing voor Pre-master
,
, lOMoAR cPSD| 45211451
Marketing – Boek H13 t/m 18 voor midterm 2
Chapter 13 – Situational influences
Purchase decisions are based on situational influences:
All those factors particular to a time and place that do not follow from a knowledge of the stable
attributes of the consumer and the stimulus and that have an effect on current behaviour.
Consumer behaviour occurs within 4 broad categories or types of situations:
1. The communications situation: the situation in which consumers receive info has an
impact on their behaviour (alone/group, good mood/bad mood -> influences the degree
to which one sees and listens to marketing communications).
2. The purchase situation: the situation in which a purchase is made can influence
consumer behaviour (eg you are with someone you want to impress, the cue is very
long).
3. The usage situation: in different situations you prefer other products (eg coke on a
summer day and tea on a cold evening). -> Expanded usage situation can lead to major
sales gains.
4. The disposition situation: marketers need to understand how situational influences affect
disposition decisions in order to develop more effective and ethical products and
marketing programs (eg some consumers want ease of disposition -> choose for
recyclable products)
Situational characteristics and consumption behaviour
The situations discussed above can be described on a number of dimensions that determine their
influence on consumer behaviour. The 5 key dimensions are: physical surroundings, social
surroundings, temporal perspectives, task definition and antecedent states.
Physical surroundings
= Decor, sounds, aromas, lightning, weather and configurations of merchandise or other
materials surrounding the stimulus object.
=> Architecture, arrangement and assortment are influencers on consumer shopping
experiences.
Store atmosphere = the sum of all the physical features of a retail environment -> influence
consumer judgements of store quality, image, moods, willingness to visit and linger.
Atmospherics = the process managers use to manipulate the physical retail environment to
create specific mood responses in shoppers (also important online!)
Atmosphere in service business (hospital, bank, restaurant) = servicescape.
Eg physical environment at Starbucks is more important to the service experience than the
physical features of dry cleaners.
=> The relative importance of tangible physical features increase as one moves to extended,
hedonic consumption experiences.
1
, lOMoAR cPSD| 45211451
Social surroundings
= The other individuals present in the particular situation -> social settings influence the type
of product you purchase/use.
Embarrassment = a negative emotion influenced by both the product and the situation. (Eg
condoms, hearing aids -> embarrassment is driven by the presence of others in the
purchase/usage situation). => Marketers should come up with strategies that lessen the
embarrassment.
Temporal perspectives = Situational characteristics that deal with the effect of time on
consumer behaviour.
Less time there is available -> shorter information search -> less available info will be used ->
more suboptimal purchases will be made.
• Time pressure decreases perceptions of retailer service quality.
• Limited purchase time results in a smaller number of product alternatives being
considered. Time pressure increases brand loyalty (“known” products are
safe).
Task definition
= The reason the consumption activity is occurring (eg gift giving -> different shopping
strategies and purchase criteria vs shopping for the same item for self-use).
Antecedent states
= Features of the individual person that are nog lasting characteristics (such as momentary
moods or conditions, called antecedent states).
Moods = transient feeling states that are generally not tied to a specific event or object.
Eg happy, sad, depressed. Moods influence decision processes, the purchase and consumption
of various products, the communication process and perceptions of service.
Communication: mood levels influence the information-processing activities.
=> Marketers must pre-test their ads in contexts similar to their expected programming
environment
Positive mood -> increased browsing and impulse purchasing;
Negative mood -> increase impulse and compulsive purchasing in some consumers.
2
