Consumer Behaviour – Assignment
Q. What are your waiting line pain points”? State where you had to wait, whether it was a grocery store, a dentist appointment, etc. How can companies change their procedures/processes to make these situations easier or more enjoyable for you?
Marketers use tricks to minimize psychological waiting time. These techniques range from altering customers perceptions of a lines length/waiting time to providing distractions that divert attention from waiting.
Ex: One hotel chain received excessive complaints about the wait for elevators, so it installed mirrors near the elevator banks. Peoples natural tendency to check their appearance reduced complaints, even though the actual waiting time was unchanged.
Ex: Airline passengers often complain about the wait to claim their baggage. In one airport, they would walk one minute from the plane to the baggage carousel and then wait seven minutes for their luggage. When the airport changed the layout so that the walk to the carousel took six minutes and bags arrived two minutes after that, complaints disappeared.
Restaurant chains are scrambling to put the fast back into fast food, especially for drive-through lanes, which now account for 65 percent of revenues. In a study that ranked the speed of 25 fast-food chains, cars spent an average of 203.6 seconds from the menu board to departure. Wendys was clocked the fastest at 150.3 seconds.
To speed things up and eliminate spills, McDonalds created a salad that comes in a container to fit into car cup holders.
Arbys set up on a high viscosity version of its special sauce thats less likely to spill.
Burger King is testing see-through bags so customers can quickly check their orders before speeding off.
– Organize your ideas, and, use notes from your reading to ensure the best answer possible.
– Name of textbook we study -Solomon, M. R. (2019). Consumer behavior: buying, having, and being. Harlow: Pearson Education.
– Your response should be clear and connect to the question as well as the readings.
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There are many factors that affect our purchases, including emotion. For
instance, Yankelovich Partners found that buying a car is the most anxiety-
provoking retail experience for consumers.
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Figure 10.1 illustrates that many contextual factors affect our choices. These
might include mood, whether we feel time pressure to make a purchase, and
the reason we need the product. Salespeople could play a role in our
decisions, too.
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A consumers physical and social environment affects her motives to use a
product as well as how she will evaluate the item. These cues include the
immediate environment and the type and number of other consumers who are
there.
The sheer presence or absence of co-consumers is a product attribute. The
presence of many people can increase physiological arousal levels so that our
experiences seem more intense. Also, the type of consumers who are in a
store affects our perceptions. We infer things about a store from the customers
there.
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Time is one of consumers most precious resources. We may change what we
want to buy based on temporal influences like what time it is or how much time
is left before we need the product. Economic time points out that time is an
economic variable think time is money. Peoples priorities determine their
timestyle. Your timestyle determines how you spend your time resource. Some
people feel that they are time poor. That means that they simply feel that they
do not have sufficient time. It may be just a perception because people
actually have more time free from work than ever before, but there are just so
many options now!
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A study looked at how the timestyles of a group of American women influence
their consumption choices. The researchers found four dimensions of time.
The social dimension refers to individuals categorization of time as either
time for me or time with/for others.
The temporal orientation dimension depicts the relative significance individuals
attach to past, present, or future.
The planning orientation dimension alludes to different time management
styles varying on a continuum from analytic to spontaneous.
The polychronic orientation dimension distinguishes between people who
prefer to do one thing at a time from those who multitask.
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Those same researchers found that women viewed time in different ways and
they developed five metaphors to capture how women viewed time.
Women who view time as a pressure cooker are analytical and monochronic.
They usually feel like the are under pressure and they shop in a methodical
manner.
Women who view time as a map are also analytical but they focus on the
future and tend to multitask. They tend to engage in extensive information
search and comparison shopping.
Women who view time as a mirror are analytical and polychronic but they have
a past temporal orientation (as opposed to the time as a map women). These
women are risk averse and they stick to brands they trust.
Women who view time as a river tend to be very spontaneous with a focus on
the present. They go shopping on the spur of the moment.
Women who view time as a feast are analytical planners with a present focus.
They view time as something that allows them to enjoy life. For this reason,
they tend to seek out opportunities for hedonic consumption.
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As consumers make decisions they are influenced by the situation they are in
too.
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Focus groups, in which a small set of consumers comes into a facility to try a
new item while company personnel observe them from behind a mirror.
Total quality management (TQM) is a complex set of management and
engineering procedures that aims to reduce errors and increase quality.
Gemba, which to the Japanese means the one true source of information.
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The shopping experience is affected by how pleasant our environment is
perceived and our level of arousal during the consumption experience. We can
enjoy or not enjoy and feel stimulated or not. Clearly our mood can affect the
experience. This figure illustrates the influence of the two basic dimensions of
pleasure and arousal. Evaluations will be more positive when our mood state
is positive.
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We can segment consumers in terms of their shopping orientation, or general
attitudes about shopping. These orientations vary depending on the particular
product categories and store types we consider. The motives for shopping are
listed on the slide. Many people shop for the social benefits. Shopping areas
are areas to hang out with friends and family. Stores frequently offer
specialized goods that allow people with shared interests to communicate.
Shopping centers are a natural place to congregate. Shopping may make
people feel important. Some people pride themselves on their knowledge of
the marketplace.
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The experience of acquiring the good may be quite different off line versus
online. Electronic marketers can reach people anywhere but there are also
issues as well. This slide lists the benefits and limitations on online retail sites.
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Retail environments are important for attracting shoppers and keeping them in
the stores. Innovative merchants use four kinds of theming techniques. These
are listed on the slide.
Landscape themes rely on associations with images of nature, animals, and
the physical body. Bass Pro Shops is an example of a landscape theme.
Marketscape themes build on associations with man-made places. The
Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas is an example of a marketscape.
Cyberspace themes build on information and communications technology.
eBay uses this approach.
Mindscape themes draw on abstract ideas and concepts, fantasy, and often
possess spiritual overtones. Day spas might reflect a spiritual theme.
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Stores can have very clear personalities. We can refer to the store personality
as store image. Some of the important dimensions of a stores image are
location, merchandise suitability, and the knowledge and congeniality of the
sales staff. Intangible factors like interior design, the types of people seen in
the store, and store return policies can also influence store image.
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Mental budgets for grocery trips are typically composed of both an itemized
portion and in-store slack. This means they typically decide beforehand on an
amount they plan to spend, but then they have an additional amount in mind
(slack) they are willing to spend on unplanned purchasesif they come across
any they really want to have.
A POP can be an elaborate product display or demonstration, a coupon
dispensing machine, or an employee who gives out free samples of a new
cookie in the grocery aisle.
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A buyer-seller situation is like many dyadic encounters. During the
relationship, the parties establish their own roles in the relationship through
identity negotiation. Salespeople can be more effective if they have authority
and expertise, and even if they have incidental similarities, such as a shared
experience, to the buyer.
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An image shown in the book is a drawing of how one consumer depicted an
impulse buyer. How would you depict yourself as an impulse buyer?
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Our overall reactions to a product after weve bought itwhat re-searchers call
consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction (CS/D) obviously play a big role in our
future behavior.
According to the expectancy disconfirmation model, we form beliefs about
product performance based on our prior experience with the product or
communications
about the product that imply a certain level of quality.
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During lateral cycling, one consumer exchanges something he or she owns for
something the other person owns.
The underground economy in the form of flea markets and other used-product
sales formats is a significant element in the U.S. market.
The new trend of recommerce (a play on the term e-commerce) shows that
many consumers want to squeeze more value out of their possessions by
selling or trading them.
This focus has given birth to the swishing movement, where people organize
parties to exchange clothing or other personal possessions with others.
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31 If this PowerPoint presentation contains mathematical equations, you may
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This chapter opens with the story of Zachary. Zachary leads a secret life.
During the week he is a stock analyst, but on the weekends, hes out on the
road with his Harley-Davidson. Zacharys group of biker friends is an important
part of his identity and this membership influences many buying decisions.
The biker group is a reference group. A reference group is an actual or
imaginary individual or group conceived of as having significant relevance
upon an individuals evaluations, aspirations, or behavior.
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Social identity theory argues that each of us has several selves that relate to
groups.
Minimal group paradigm, researchers show that even when they arbitrarily
assign subjects to one group or another, people favor those who wind up in
the same group.
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Social power exists when the one person admires the qualities of another and
tries to copy the referents behavior. Its important to marketers because
consumers voluntarily modify what they do and buy to identify with the
referent.
Information power exists when someone knows something others would like to
know.
Legitimate power is granted through true authority in a situation. For instance,
police officers have legitimate power.
Expert power accrues to a person who is an expert in a particular field. Due to
their expertise, others will be influenced by them.
Reward power refers to the influence held by a person who has the ability to
offer a reward.
Coercive power is the opposite of reward power. It is held by someone who
has the ability to punish.
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Membership reference groups are people we know like our families, friendship
groups, and colleagues. Because we tend to compare ourselves with similar
others, many promotional strategies include ordinary people. Seeing the
consumption activities of others acts as a form of social influence. Aspirational
reference groups are people we admire. They may be successful
businesspeople, athletes, or performers.
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Reference groups can affect our decisions both positively and negatively.
Sometimes we deliberately do the opposite if we want to distance ourselves
from avoidance groups.
Antibrand communities are those that coalesce around a brand but they are
united by a disdain for the brand. Many brands have been targeted by
antibrand communities including Dunkin Donuts, Rachael Ray, and Starbucks.
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People in larger groups have fewer constraints on behavior. Deindividuation
occurs when our individual identities are submerged in the group. In other
words, we dont stay out alone so we may behave differently. At a costume
party, we may act wilder than we would in our everyday lives.
The change in our shopping behavior in groups is the reason some brands
use home shopping parties.
Why do we tend to conform to the pressure of groups? The primary culprits
are listed in the slide. Culture pressure refers to how different cultures
encourage conformity to a greater or lesser extent. For instance, the Japanese
society emphasizes collective well-being and group loyalty over individuals
needs.
Individuals may believe that the group will apply sanctions to punish
nonconforming behaviors. This is the fear captured in the factor, fear of
defiance. According to the principle of least interest, the person who is least
committed to staying in a relationship has the most power because that party
doesnt care as much if the other person rejects him. As groups gain in power,
compliance increases. The trait, susceptibility to interpersonal influence, refers
to an individuals need to have others think highly of him or her.
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Brandfests are held by many companies like Mini and Harley-Davidson. The
festivals enable consumers to interact with others who share a similar brand
passion.
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In brand communities, experienced members coach newer members. As this
process occurs, the community creates added value for being a part of the
community. Figure 11.1 illustrates how value is created and socialized
throughout the community. Can you apply this process to a community of
which you are a part?
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Buzz building is creating buzz around some idea, product, or promotion.
Serial reproduction is examining how content mutates
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This objective deals specifically with organizational decision-making as one of
the types of collective decision-making covered in the chapter.
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This figure illustrates how information changes as it is transmitted. The farther
from the original source, the more difference exists in the information
transmitted. Sometimes this transmission effect creates misinformation about
products especially online.
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Two-step flow model of influence. It proposes that a small group of influencers
disseminates information because they can modify the opinions of a large
number of other people.
Consumers communicate the information vigorously to one another and they
also participate in a two-way dialogue with the opinion leader as part of an
influence network.
These conversations create information cascades that occur when a piece of
information triggers a sequence of interactions (much like an avalanche).
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Everyone knows people who are knowledgeable about products and whose
advice others take seriously. Opinion leaders are valuable sources of
information because they possess social power. They may have expertise but
one source of influence is their similarity to the person being influenced.
Homophily refers to the degree to which a pair of individuals is similar in terms
of education, social status, and beliefs.
The original framework describing opinion leadership is known as the two step
flow model of influence. It proposes that a small number of influencers
disseminate information because they can modify the opinions of a large
number of other people. Research has shown that this might not be the case.
Instead, influentials share the information with those who are easily influenced
and then those people continue to talk among themselves, resulting in
information cascades.
The influence of these opinion leaders is more widespread online. Forrester
calls these people Mass Connectors and they are responsible for about 80%
of brand mentions online.
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People can also be influenced by a special type of opinion leader called the
market maven. Researchers use a scale to identify market mavens. The scale
includes items like I like introducing new brands and products to my friends.
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Surrogate consumers are opinion leaders we usually pay for advice. Their
recommendations are very influential! Some examples include personal
shoppers and interior designers.
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Companies want to use opinion leaders to spread word-of-mouth
communication about their brands, but how do they find the opinion leaders?
The most common technique is simply to ask individual consumers whether
they consider themselves to be opinion leaders. The problem is that just
because we transmit advice about products does not mean that other people
take the advice. For someone to be a true opinion leader, others must follow
the advice given.
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The play Six Degrees of Separation is based on the premise that everyone is
connected to everyone else, at least indirectly. Sociometric methods trace
communication patterns among members of a group. We can use this method
to better understand referral behavior and to locate strengths and weaknesses
in terms of how ones reputation flows through a community. Network analysis
focuses on communication in social systems, considers the relationships
among people in a referral network, and measures the tie strength among
them. Tie strength refers to the nature of the bond between people. It can
range from strong primary to weak secondary. Even weak ties can be
influential.
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Standards of behavior: Rules that specify what members can and cant do on
the site. Some of these rules are spelled out explicitly (e.g., if you buy an item
on eBay, you agree that you have entered into a legal contract to pay for it),
but many of them are unspoken. A simple example is discouragement of the
practice of flaming when a POST CONTAINS ALL CAPITAL LETTERS TO
EXPRESS ANGER.
Member contributions: A healthy proportion of users need to contribute
content. If not, the site will fail to offer fresh material and ultimately traffic will
slow. Participation can be a challenge, though. Remember the 80/20 rule we
discussed way back in Chapter 1? It applies to online consumption as well.
The fact is that most members of an online community are lurkers. Thats kind
of a creepy term, but it just means they absorb content that others post rather
than contributing their own. Researchers estimate that only 1 percent of a
typical communitys users regularly participate, and another nine percent do so
only intermittently. The remaining 90 percent just observe whats on the site.
Although they dont contribute content, they do offer value to advertisers that
simply want to reach large numbers of people. But what happens when we
want to engage consumers more actively? How can a site convert lurkers into
active users? The easier it is to participate, the more likely it is that the
community can generate activity among a larger proportion of visitors. In part,
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A game platform refers to the hardware systems on which the game is played.
Platforms include game consoles (consoles are interactive, electronic devices
used
to display video games, such as Sonys PlayStation3, Microsofts Xbox 360,
and Nintendos Wii), computers (including both online games and those that
require software installation on the players computer hard drive), and portable
devices that may include smartphones or devices specifically for game play
such as the Sony PSP or Nintendo DS.
Mode refers to the way players experience the game world. It includes aspects
such as whether a players activities are highly structured, whether the game
is single-player or multiplayer, whether the game is played in close physical
proximity to other players (or by virtual proximity), and whether the game is
real-time or turn-based.
Milieu describes the visual nature of the game, such as science fiction,
fantasy, horror, and retro.
The genre of a game refers to the method of play. Popular genres include
simulation, action, and role-playing. Simulation games depict real-world
situations as accurately as possible. There are several subgenres, including
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Viral marketing occurs when an organization motivates visitors to forward
online content to their friends; the message quickly spreads much like a cold
virus moves among residents of a dorm.
However the urge to share even creates new genres of communication such
as haul videos that feature a proud fashionista describing clothing items she
just bought, and unboxing videos that illustrate in painstaking detail exactly
how to remove electronics products from their boxes and assemble them for
use (if you dont believe it, Google these terms!).
Dispreferred Marker Effect. Online posts that are really negative may make the
writer look harsh and judgmental, so people sometimes soften them by
couching them
in dispreferred markers, including phrases such as, Ill be honest, God bless
it, or I dont want to be mean, but Sure enough, readers of these kinds of
posts evaluated the writer more positively than they did posters who just laid
the bad news, warts and all.
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Power users have a strong communications network that gives them the ability
to affect purchase decisions for a number of other consumers, directly and
indirectly.
In advertising lingo, an impression refers to a view or an exposure to an
advertising message. Forrester estimates that, each year, U.S. consumers
generate 256
billion influence impressions as people talk about their lives with each other,
telling stories and experiences that invariably include brands.96 These
influence impressions are primarily delivered byyou guessed itpower
users: Only 6.2 percent of social media users are responsible for about 80
percent of these brand mentions. Forrester calls these influencers mass
connectors.
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This chapter begins by considering how people appear based on the products
we surround ourselves with.
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Tightwads hate to part with their money and actually experience emotional
pain when they make purchases. Spendthrifts enjoy nothing more than
spending. Frugality seems to be driven by a pleasure of saving, compared to
tightwaddism which is driving by a pain of paying. Consumer research on
attitudes toward money found eight segments. These ranged from crash
dieters who would try to cut out all nonessential spending until things improved
to vultures who circle the market looking for bargains.
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Behavioral economics is also called economic psychology. It is the study of the
human side of economic decisions. Consumers beliefs about what the future
holds are an indicator of consumer confidence. Consumer confidence is a
measure of how optimistic or pessimistic people are about the future health of
the economy and how they predict theyll fare down the road. When people
are optimistic about the future, they tend to reduce their savings rate. In
addition, world events and culture affect overall savings rates. The person
depicted in the Bianco ad is tired of hearing about the financial crisis.
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Plutonomy to describe an economy thats driven by a fairly small number of
rich people.
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Social mobility refers to the passage of individuals from one social class to
another. Horizontal mobility occurs when a person moves from one position to
another that is roughly equal. For instance, when a nurse becomes an
elementary school teacher, horizontal mobility has occurred. Upward mobility
means moving to a higher status. Downward movement is losing social status.
Overall though most people remain in their social class. The improvements
people make are not sufficient to shift them into a whole other class. The
exception is when someone marries someone who is much richer.
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SBI divides consumers into three groups based on their attitudes toward
luxury. Consumers who use their money to buy things that will last and have
enduring value view luxury as functional. Those who use luxury goods to say
Ive made it view luxury as a reward. Those who seek out luxury goods in
order to illustrate their individuality take an emotional approach to luxury
spending and view luxury as indulgence.
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We typically assume that marketers are targeting consumers at the top of the
pyramid. Those are consumers with the highest incomes but they are also a
small percentage of the world market. There are also marketers targeting the
bottom of the pyramid. 78% of the global population is low income consumers
whose purchasing power is under $10,000 per year.
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This figure illustrates how marketers can market to low-income consumers.
The As include awareness, affordability, availability, and acceptability.
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You may wish to consider the types of spending and saving categories shown
in the Marketing Opportunity box in this segment. Is your own spending
reflected in one of the types?
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Our second learning objective focuses on social class and how consumer
behavior relates to social class.
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We use the term social class to describe the overall rank of people in a
society. People who belong to the same social class have approximately equal
social standing in the community. They work in similar occupations and tend to
have similar lifestyles. We tend to marry people in a similar social class to
ours, a tendency that sociologists call homogamy.
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Social stratification refers to the creation of artificial divisions among people
such that some members get more resources than others by virtue of their
relative standing, power, or control in the group. In groups, some resources
are earned through hard work and this is known as achieved status. Others
may get resources because of who they are and this is known as ascribed
status. Most groups do exhibit a status hierarchy where some members are
better off than others.
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Social class includes multiple determining factors but two highly influential
factors are occupational prestige and income. Occupation is considered the
best indicator of social class because it is strongly linked to use of leisure time,
allocation of family resources, aesthetic preferences, and political orientation.
The distribution of wealth determines which groups have the greatest buying
power and market potential.
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The process of social stratification refers to this creation of artificial divisions,
those processes in a social system by which scarce and valuable resources
are distributed unequally to status positions that become more or less
permanently ranked in terms of the share of valuable resources each
receives.
Most groups exhibit a structure, or status hierarchy in which some members
are better off than others. They may have more authority or power, or other
members simply like or respect them.
In a system in which (like it or not) we define people to a great extent by what
they do for a living, occupational prestige is one way we evaluate their worth.
A worldview is another way to differentiate among social classes. To
generalize, the world of the working class (i.e., the lower-middle class) is more
intimate and constricted.
For example, working-class men are likely to name local sports figures as
heroes and are less likely to take long vacation trips to out-of-the-way places.
Many well-off consumers seem to be stressed or unhappy despite or even
because of their wealth, a condition some call affluenza.
Cosmopolitanism is an aspect of worldview that is starting to receive more
attention by consumer behavior researchers, who define a cosmopolitan as
someone who tries
to be open to the world and who strives for diverse experiences (not to be
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Social class and income can be useful in predicting consumer choices, but not
always.
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Social class remains an important way to categorize consumers. However,
marketers fail to use social class information as effectively as they could
because of the reasons above.
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Its becoming more difficult to identify social class from product choices. Think
about how many college women you know who have a Coach purse but eat
ramen noodles for dinner.
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A taste culture describes consumers in terms of their aesthetic and intellectual
preferences. This concept helps us to understand subtle distinctions in
consumer choices.
Another approach to social class focuses on codes, the ways consumers
express and interpret meanings. Restricted codes focus on the content of
objects, rather than on the relationships among objects. Elaborated codes are
more complex.
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In one study of social differences in taste, researchers catalogued home
owners possessions as they sat in their living rooms and asked them about
their income and occupation. They identified clusters of furnishings and
decorative items that seemed to appear together with some regularity. They
found different clusters based upon social status as shown in the figure.
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The transformation of Burning Man from what used to be known as a
countercultural celebration to a showcase for wealth illustrates Bourdieus
concept of social capital.
Cultural capital refers to a set of distinctive and socially rare tastes and
practicesknowledge of refined behavior that admits a person into the realm
of the upper class.
Glamping is glamorous camping.
The psychic income we get when we post reviews that others validate
creates a reputation economy, in which the currency people earn is approval
rather than cold
hard cash.
And, like exclusive country clubs, online gated communities that selectively
allow access to some people may offer a high degree of social capital to the
lucky few who pass the test.
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For Veblen, we buy things to create invidious distinction this means that we
use them to inspire envy in others through our display of wealth or power.
Veblen coined the term conspicuous consumption to refer to peoples desires
to provide prominent visible evidence of their ability to afford luxury goods.
Although status seeking through product consumption and display is a
worldwide phenomenon, some find the best tactic is to do the opposite. In that
case, status is attained by avoiding it. Social scientists call this form of
conspicuous consumption parody display.
This phenomenon of conspicuous consumption was, for Veblen, most evident
among what he termed the leisure class people for whom productive work is
taboo.
In recent years the tables have turned as older womenwho increasingly
boast the same incomes and social capital as their male peersseek out
younger men as arm candy.
These so-called cougars.
In contrast, some people may feel the need to almost hit others over the head
with their bling; they use loud signals, one set of researchers labels these
differences brand prominence.
Brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Mercedes vary in terms of how blatant
their status appeals (e.g., prominent logos) are in advertisements and on the
products themselvesor in other words, in the type of status signaling they
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How do people who buy luxury goods handle it when that brand is
counterfeited? They may flight, reclaim, or abrand. Flight means they stop
using the brand. Reclamation means they try to establish their long-term
relationship with the real brand. Abrand means they mini
