Consumers and Consumption Flashcards
Customer V.S Consumer
= The Oxford English Dictionary (2016) defines a customer
(buyer) as: “a person who buys goods or services from a shop
or business.”
SOLOMON ET AL. (2014) = A consumer is generally thought of as a person who identifies a need or desire, makes a purchase, and then disposes of the product during the consumption process.
ARNOULD ET AL. (2004) = We define consumer behaviour as individuals or groups acquiring, using, and disposing of products, services, ideas, or experiences.
(Consumer Profiles) Economic consumer
= Quite sensitive to price, quality, and assortment of merchandise. Personnel and the store are viewed as tools in their purchase of goods.
(Consumer Profiles) Personalising consumer
= Shops where they are known by name. Strong personal attachments are formed with store personnel
(Consumer Profiles) Ethical consumer
= Shops where they feel they should shop
(Consumer Profiles) Alphabetic consumer
= Shops only because they have to
The Circle of Consumption
Production = Creating/making available
↓
Acquisition = receiving. finding e.g. upcycling, inheriting, purchasing
↓
consumption = collecting, displaying, wearing, eating
↓
Disposal = giving away, throwing away, recycling
↓
REPEAT
Belk and Sherry (2007)
(Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour (Kotler, 2014)) Psychological Influences
= Motivation
= perception = how we see goods and brands
= learning (memory) = prior experiences
= beliefs and attitudes = our own world view
= personality and ‘the self-concept’
marketers demonstrate a ‘desired state’ to make ppl buy things
(Psychological Influences) The Self-Concept
= Self-concept is how someone thinks about, perceives or evaluates themselves
= People project a role that is reinforced by exterior accoutrements appropriate for the role
= People buy products that contribute to the self-concept
(Psychological Influences) Identity
= Personality describes qualities individuals have
= Identity requires some element of choice
= We mark ourselves as having the same identity as one group of people and a different one from others
= Football clubs, fan fiction, Trekkies, harry potter fans
= Identity is marked by similarity and difference
= It is a combination of how you see yourself and how others see you, linking the personal with the social
(Psychological Influences) Self-Categorization Theory
Turner (1987)
= ‘This is a set of related assumptions and hypotheses about the functioning of the social self-concept. The concept of self is based on comparison with other people and relevant to social interaction’. (Turner 1987:42)
= Turner suggests that people have a repertoire of group memberships that ‘both describe and prescribe one’s attributes as a group member’ (Hogg 1996:67)
= Each in-group has a shared social membership and associated stereotypes consisting of a range of beliefs and actions aligned with people in the group.
= Self-Categorization Theory, therefore, focuses on the components of social identity, the recognition of an individual’s membership to a social group.
(Psychological Influences) Goffman: ‘presentation of self in everyday life’
= We are all acting out parts in a play
= Roles not identities
= We act out a whole range of different roles, performing for an ‘audience’
= What we wear, what we say, how we behave give clues to
who we are trying to be
=> Identity can be created by image e.g. what you wear
presents an identity to the world as we judge people
based on our own experience, pre-conceptions and
knowledge of stereotypes
(Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour (Kotler, 2014)) Personal Influences
= Occupation
= Education
= Economic situation
= Age & lifecycle stage
(Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour (Kotler, 2014)) Social Influences
= Household type
= Reference groups
= Aspirational groups
= Roles & status
(Social Influences) Reference groups
Schiffman et al. (2014) = “A reference group is a person or group who serves as a point of comparison for an individual when forming values or attitudes.”
Socialisation
= The process of becoming an effective and integrated member
of society by attaining and replicating norms, customs and
ideologies in order to maintain continuity
Compliance
= Adherence without belief: acquiescence
Conformity
= The social pressure to behave in similar ways to other people
(Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour (Kotler, 2014)) Cultural Influences
= Culture
= Subculture
= Social Class
Paul (2008, p100) = “The personality of society – the continuously evolving totality of learned and shared experiences of life that give meaning to rituals, norms, traditions, languages, symbols and common values amongst members of an organisation or society.”
