Meaning and Definition of Consumers Behavior
Consumer behavior refers to the study of purchasing habits, buying tendencies, buying patterns and purchasing motivations of consumers or customers. Therefore, under consumer behavior, the following four things are ascertained that
(1) When do consumers buy? (2) Who buys? (3) How do consumers buy? and (4) Where do consumers buy?
The whole process of marketing revolves around the consumer and the consumer is called the king of that marketing. Consumer behavior is the study of those motivations, motives, buying patterns, decisions, etc., which are influenced by which a buyer buys a specific item. In other words, consumer or buyer’s behavior is the decision to buy a particular item. For marketing management it is necessary to study the behavior of the consumer because all the marketing related activities are influenced by the decision of the consumer. The consumer does all his work or activities to satisfy a specific goal or need. It should be studied by the marketer that when, where, how the consumer buys the goods of his organization.
Therefore, in a nutshell, it can be said that the study of consumer behavior is to get information about when, where, how and why a consumer buys a commodity. (1) According to Walter and Paul, “Consumer behavior is a process in which a person decides whether, when, where and from whom to buy goods and services.” (2) According to Schoell and Guiltinan, “Consumer behavior is that part of human behavior which is concerned with the decisions and actions taken by individuals in relation to the purchase and use of products. (3) According to Shiffman and Kanuk, “Consumer behavior is the section that tells the managers what is behind the decision to spend on consumables. It not only proves what has been exchanged but also shows where, when, why and how many times the exchange has taken place.”
It is clear from the above definitions that “Consumer Behavior refers to the process of purchasing decision of the consumer, under which the consumer’s buying habits, buying propensities, purchasing method and purchasing motivations are studied which influence his decision to buy. does.”
Factors Influencing the Consumers Behavior
The factors influencing consumer buying behavior are divided into the following two parts:
(a) Economic factors: Under economic elements, such elements are studied which affect the economic condition of the consumer. It includes the following elements
(1) Consumer’s credit The ability of the consumer to buy goods on credit or on credit also affects the behavior of the consumer. With the availability of credit facilities, consumers are motivated to buy more goods.
(2) Government policy – Consumer behavior is also affected by government policy. If money is circulated, prices will rise, savings will decrease and the consumer will have to completely change his spending pattern.
(3) Personal Income- Personal income greatly influences consumer behavior. Increase in personal income of consumer leads to increase in consumption and decrease in personal income of consumer leads to decrease in consumption.
(4) Independent Income-Independent income means such income which remains after the fulfillment of essential needs. The consumer can spend this type of income as per his wish. The more such income is with the consumer, the more he will be eager to consume more goods.
(5) The consumer’s property is often consumed by the consumer according to his present income and the protective cash kept with him for the future also affects the present consumption. This type of cash is kept for contingencies.
(6) Income Possibilities of the Consumer: The income prospects of the consumer also have a direct effect on the consumption behavior. If the income prospects of the consumer, such as the expected income from investment, which the consumer expects to receive in the future, will have an effect on his present consumption.
(7) Family condition and income – If the size of the family is large and the sources of income are less, then consumption will also be less. Income and family size also influence the spending behavior of the buyer to a great extent.
(b) Psychological Factor The following are the psychological factors affecting consumer behavior
(1) Basic Needs- The consumer first fulfills his essential needs. These needs are physical, security related, respect and prestige and self-fulfillment. Whenever a consumer buys goods, he consumes only those goods which can satisfy these needs in excess. That thing brings success.
(2) Image – The impression which is in the mind of a consumer due to knowledge or ignorance about an object or subject is called image. It has a huge impact on the consumer. Image can be of many types, such as self image, object image, brand image etc.
(3) Knowledge Theory – According to knowledge theory, the following elements affect the consumer (i) Motivation – Consumer behavior is greatly influenced by motivation. These motivations include emotional, rational, natural and learned motives etc. (ii) Continuity – By bringing a commodity in constant contact with the consumer, his commodity knowledge increases. Continuous advertising of a commodity gives the consumer more knowledge of that commodity and encourages him to consume that item. (iii) knowledge of the situation
(iv) Group Effect: Group effect also affects consumer behaviour. If a rich or dignified person starts consuming something in the society, then other people of the society also start consuming it.
(4) Semiotic psychology – the following two elements are included under semiotic psychology
(i) Rationalization- It is the decision related to the human mind. Under this, the intellectual capacity and conscience of man is studied, that is, why a person buys something, it is ascertained.
(ii) Unconscious state – The unconscious state refers to the state in which the consumer cannot explain the reason for buying or not buying a particular commodity.
After studying the above facts, it can be said that consumer behavior is not affected by only one factor i.e. it is affected by both economic and psychological factors. Therefore, the marketer should study both the economic elements and the psychological elements.
