Consumer Buyer Behavior

Introduction

What influences a buyer to choose one product over its competitor? What thought process goes on to make the buyer settle on one product over the other? This is a question that all businesses aim to answer in their marketing activities. Understanding the consumer’s thought process allows the company to tailor its products to the consumer’s needs and execute a marketing campaign that best satisfies the needs of the consumers. This study will be a rudimentary analysis of consumer habits to identify the influences that lead my sister to purchase clothing. The patterns observed during the survey represent the thought process of the average buyer and can be used to understand consumer buyer behavior concepts.

Research question

I will observe my younger sister’s shopping patterns in a clothing store. I will assess the influences that are in play as she chooses the clothes she wants to purchase. I suspect her choices will be influenced by the price of the clothing line, celebrity endorsements, and style for people of her age group. The research question I seek to answer is what factors influence consumer buying decisions?

Procedure

I gave my sister 200 dollars to go on a clothing shopping spree in a popular mall in town and tagged along to observe her decision-making patterns. I allowed her to make her decision on the outfits she wanted, free from my opinion. I also informed her that I was not going to give her extra money, and she had the choice to spend the whole amount at the mall or save some for the next time she wanted to go shopping.

Summary

The shopping spree was a success because I was able to observe consumer buying behavior firsthand. My younger sister decided to spend the whole amount on the trip. We shopped at a popular store, Forever 21, which primarily serves millennials. She bought an outfit that was quite similar to one of her favorite local artists. She also purchased an array of accessories such as bucket hats, a handbag, and some trendy Yeezy shoes. She also bought a minidress which I found to be quite unusual. She looked very excited at the end of the trip and could not wait to get home and take pictures for Instagram.

Conclusions and marketing implications

Consumer buying behavior is influenced by four major factors; cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors. I was able to witness all four factors in play during my sister’s shopping spree. The first factor is the cultural factor. Culture is the way of life of a group of people. Therefore, cultural factors are the collection of values and thought processes that are engrained in the buyer (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2002). The cultural factors can be divided into three categories; culture, subculture, and social class (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008). A subculture is a group within a culture whose established norms and way of life deviate slightly from the cultural norms. Social class is used to group the members of society based on a specific category.

I was able to observe the effects of the subculture on my sister’s purchasing decisions. My sister chose one of the trendier clothing stalls, Forever 21, despite the store having slightly higher prices for their clothing options compared to the competitors. She went to the stall because it is popular with Generation Z clients since it offers the trendiest clothes. People in my sister’s age group tend to like dressing in clothing that is in line with recent fashion trends, which influenced my sister to purchase her clothes from the clothing store. She could also afford the clothes in the store, which further motivated her to buy the clothes from the store.

The second factor is the social factor. The social element is the influence we get from people we interact with, such as our parents, friends, reference groups, and celebrities, encouraging one to purchase a good or service (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008). Celebrity endorsement heavily influenced my sister’s clothing choices. I noticed that she bought some minidresses yet she does not like wearing dresses. I, therefore, asked her what led to her clothing choices. She said that her favorite local celebrity wore similar dresses a while back and thought the dresses were trendy. Celebrity endorsement is the new way companies market their products. Celebrity endorsements increase brand awareness, trust, and familiarity with the brand (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008). The three factors are crucial to the purchasing behavior of potential buyers. They increase the potential buyer’s interest in the brand, making it easier to convert them to purchase the product. The local artist increased my sister’s interest in the dresses, which led her to forego her personal preferences and buy the dresses.

The third factor in play is the personal factors, including the buyer’s age, lifestyle, and economic power (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2002). Products are tailored to appeal to specific age groups and support a particular lifestyle. Bucket hats are very popular with my sister’s age group. I was therefore not surprised when she purchased several bucket hats. Her choice was based on what is trendy among members of her age group, showing the impact of personal factors on consumer purchasing decisions.

The last factor in play is the psychological factor. The psychological factor includes the hierarchical needs of the individual, world perception, and beliefs that influence their attraction towards a product(Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2008). The consumer purchases the product that meets their intentions. My sister wanted clothes that would make her look fashionable on Instagram and had enough money to buy her desired pieces. She, therefore, went for clothes that were currently in style and popular in her age group. She would have picked out a different store and clothes if she wanted to have official wear in her closet or did not have enough money to shop in the trendy stall. Her choice showed the impact of hierarchical needs on consumer purchasing decisions.

In conclusion, the social experiment helped me observe and conclude that four factors influence consumer buying decisions. The consumer integrates the cultural, social, personal, and psychological factors in sequential steps while making a purchasing decision (Kotler, Armstrong, Wong, & Saunders, 2002). Companies should therefore ensure that their products match the needs of their target market by ensuring that they satisfy each of the four factors their consumers use in decision making.