environmental influences on consumer behavior

7/28/2019 environmental influences on consumer behavior

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Environmental

influences onconsumer behavior


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Environmental influences physical environment: collection of nonhuman

elements that comprise the field in whichconsumer behavior occurs (spatial and nonspatialelements);

social environment: all human activities andinteractions;

culture

subculture

social class

reference groups

family


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Subcultureculture of a segment of society that differs in

significant ways from the culture as a whole;

ethnic groups geographic areas

age groups

religious affiliations socio-economic groups


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Social class a hierarchy of social status in a societyleading to interactions of people as

equals, superiors, or inferiors;

influenced most heavily by educationalcredentials, occupation prestige level,

income, and area of residence;


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Reference groupsA group of people that serves as a standard

of reference in guiding an individuals

thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Types of reference group influence: informational:

normative (utilitarian):

comparative (value-expressive):


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To satisfy the expectations of fellow work associates,

the individuals decision to purchase a particularbrand is influenced by their preferences.

The individual seeks information from those whowork with the product as a profession.

The individual sometimes feels that it would be niceto be like the type of person which advertisementsshow using a particular brand.

The brand which the individual selects is influencedby observing a seal of approval of an independent

testing agency (such as Good Housekeeping). The individual feels that the purchase of a particular

brand helps him show others what he is, or wouldlike to be (such as an athlete, successfulbusinessman, good mother, etc.).


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Reference group influence on product and

brand choice (Bearden and Etzel 1982)

necessity luxury

private

public

brandchoice

productchoice weak reference

group influencestrong referencegroup influence

strongreference

groupinfluence

weakreference

groupinfluence

PuNe(e.g., wristwatch,

automobile,mans suit)

PrNe(e.g., mattress,

floor lamp,refrigerator)

PuLu(e.g., golf club,

snow skis,sailboat)

PrLu(e.g., TV game,

trash compactor,icemaker)


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Families families vs. households:

a family is two or more persons residing togetherwho are related by blood, adoption, or marriage;

a household is one or more persons sharing thesame housing unit;

many decision are made by families orhouseholds, not individuals;

consumer behavior varies over the familylife cycle (based on age, marital status,and number and ages of children);


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Parental Roles in Family Decision Making

0% 50% 100%

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

wife dominant

husband dominant

autonomic syncratic

Percentage of families engaging in joint decision making


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Parental Influence by Product Category

0% 50% 100%


3

2.5

2

1.5

1

wife's clothing

husband's clothing

life insurance

other insurance

vacation

television

car

food

cleaningproducts

cosmetics

children's toys

housing

appliances

wife

dominant

husband

dominant

alcoholic beverages


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Parental Influence by Stage of Decision

0% 50% 100%

3

2.5

2

1.5

1

life insurance

car

appliances

wife

dominant

husband

dominant

husband'sclothing

12

3

1 problem recognition

2 search for information

3 final decision



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The family life cycle young single 8.2 % young married without children 2.9 % other young

married with children 17.1 % divorced with kids 1.9 %

divorced with no kids 0.1 % middle-aged (35-65)

married with children 33.0 % married with no dependent children 5.5 % married with no children 4.7 % divorced with no kids 0.3 %

divorced with kids 1.9 % older(65+)

married, spouse present 5.2 % unmarried, no spouse present 2.0 %

all others 17.2 %

environmental influences on consumer behavior

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