Introduction to Factors influencing consumer behaviour | Commercial Applications - Class 6 PDF Download

Buying Behaviour is the decision processes and acts of people involved in buying and using products.

• Why consumers make the purchases that they make? 
• What factors influence consumer purchases? 
• The changing factors in our society. 

Consumer Buying Behaviour refers to the buying behaviour of the ultimate consumer. Many factors, specificities and characteristics influence the individual in what he is and the consumer in his decision making process, shopping habits, purchasing behavior, the brands he buys or the retailers he goes. A purchase decision is the result of each and every one of these factors. An individual and a consumer is led by his culture, his subculture, his social class, his membership groups, his family, his personality, his psychological factors, etc.. and is influenced by cultural trends as well as his social and societal environment. By identifying and understanding the factors that influence their customers, brands have the opportunity to develop a strategy, a marketing message (Unique Value Proposition) and advertising campaigns more efficient and more in line with the needs and ways of thinking of their target consumers, a real asset to better meet the needs of its customers and increase sales.

Consumer behavior refers to the selection, purchase and consumption of goods and services for the satisfaction of their wants. There are different processes involved in the consumer behavior. Initially the consumer tries to find what commodities he would like to consume, then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility. After selecting the commodities, the consumer makes an estimate of the available money which he can spend. Lastly, the consumer analyzes the prevailing prices of commodities and takes the decision about the commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, there are various other factors influencing the purchases of *Pinki Rani, Assistant, LIC, Kurukshetra. Consumer such as social, cultural, personal and psychological. The explanation of these factors is given below.

Consumers buyer behaviour is influenced by four major factors:

• Cultural
• Social
• Personal
• Psychological.

These factors cause consumers to develop product and brand preferences. Although many of these factors cannot be directly controlled by marketers, understanding of their impact is essential as marketing mix strategies can be developed to appeal to the preferences of the target market.  When purchasing any product, a consumer goes through a decision process.
This process consists of up to five stages: 

• Stage 1: problem recognition
• Stage 2: information search
• Stage 3: evaluation of alternatives
• Stage 4: purchase decision
• Stage 5: post purchase behaviour. 

The length of this decision process will vary. A consumer may not act in isolation in the purchase, but rather may be influenced by any of several people in various roles. The number of people involved in the buying decision increases with the level of involvement and complexity of the buying decision behaviour. Consumer s buyer behaviour and the resulting purchase decision are strongly influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological characteristics. An understanding of the influence of these factors is essential for marketers in order to develop suitable marketing mixes to appeal to the target customer.