Consumer

Behaviour
Sajjad Hussain
 Learning Outcomes (1)
Recognise the importance of studying consumer behaviour for the
implementation of the marketing concept.

Be able to demonstrate an understanding of the importance of the academic

subjects (psychology, sociology, and anthropology) that underpin the study
of consumer behaviour.

Be able to critically assess competing theories of consumer behaviour.

 Learning Outcomes (2)
Be able to evaluate research methods, theories and concepts
commonly used in exploring and understanding consumer
behaviour.

Show a developing critical reflexivity towards the subject

matter.

Demonstrate written and oral communication skills;

independent study skills; researching skills; team working &
organizational skills.
 Approach to teaching
I recommend this for every class, not just this one and there are three reasons for this. First,

research is quite convincing in showing distributed learning lasts much longer. Second,

earlier exposure to the ideas will let you think about them in ways that help critical

thinking. Third, because this is a class, participation is a significant portion of your marks.
 What’s expected of you during class
✔ All cell phones & other electronic devices must be put on silent or turned off and not on
your desk during class.
✔ Students are responsible for what transpired if they miss a class. It is the student’s
responsibility to contact other classmates to determine what was missed.
✔ Talking and other disruptive behavior are not permitted while classes are in session.
✔ Students are expected and must do ORIGINAL work for all assignments, including
exams.
Attendance Guidelines
A. Attendance will be marked during the first five minutes of class.

B. Those who are not in class within five minutes will be marked late.

C. To discourage tardiness, students who have been late a total of six

or more times will have two Lates marked as one Absent.

 Reading Material
• Main textbook:
Schiffman, L.G., Leslie Kanuk, (2010),
Consumer Behaviour (Global edition) Tenth
Edition, Pearson ISBN-10: 0-13-700670-5.

• Other books (See MO)

• Academic Papers
Some useful information
regarding module..
The slides are only the starting point for discussion in class.
Students are expected to keep notes during the class and use
multiple sources (journal articles and books) to further
investigate and understand the various concepts.

Focusing only on the slides for their revision might find it difficult
to have high achievements in the course.

Other material not provided in this area might be also delivered in

class. This might include slides, examples or any other material.

Often older editions of books have been used to develop some of

the slides used in class. You could use newer editions of the
same books as references if you want to study more thoroughly a
specific topic.
Assessment
Sessional I 10%

Sessional II 15%

Quiz/Assignments/ 10%

Projects/Presentations 15%

Class Participation 10%

Terminal Examination after 16 week 40%

Group assignment 2500 ± 5% words

● Groups are self-selected

● 3-6 members
● Must confirm members by submitting names and contact
details to lecturer by week 2
Group Project
•1 Group Project: 15 Points
●Presentation: 5 Points
●Essay: 10 Points

●2 Topics; Select ONE

Topic 1: Subscription
Services
• Part A: Discuss the different motivations identified in
the literature for the purchase of subscription services
(streaming platforms). In doing so you must
acknowledge the different product classifications
identified by previous literature (convenience, luxury
and experiential).

• Part B: With your group, conduct 2 focus groups to

uncover the motivations for the purchase of subscription
services (streaming platforms). Analyse your findings
and compare them with existing literature on
motivations identified in part A.
Topic 2: Vacation
Destination
• Part A: With your group identify the evaluation criteria for
the selection of a vacation destination. Provide an evaluation
of the different destinations discussing your choice of
decision rule.

• Part B: Create a printed advertisement with a promotional

message that provides the consumer with a decision strategy
to follow in choosing a vacation destination.
Q&A
Spring 2024 - Timeframe for Module
Development of
Consumer
Research
Why Understand
Consumer Behavior?
- To determine what consumers need

Consumer Information Firm

- To influence consumers through marketing

strategies

Firm Marketing Strategies Consumer

• Consumer behavior
reflects the totality of
consumers’ decisions with
respect to the acquisition,
consumption, and
disposition of goods,
services by (human)
decision making [over
time].

• It is the behavior that

consumers display in
seeking, purchasing,
using, evaluating and
disposing of products and
services that they expect
will satisfy their needs.
What is Consumer behavior?
•Consumer behavior is the study of how
individuals make decisions to spend
their available resources such as money,
time, and effort on consumption related
items.
• More
generally, consumer behavior is a marriage
between psychology and marketing.

• Understanding the Psychology and behavior of the

consumer can help marketers determine whether new
products are likely to be adopted or expect reactions to
changes in the marketing mix.
Key Consumer Behaviour Concepts for
Marketers
• Customer value (Unique selling proposition or
value selling proposition)
• Satisfaction (function of customer expectations)
• Trust

• Customer Retention
Origins of Consumer behavior and
Evolution as a Field of Enquiry
• Economictheory (from production-driven to
market-driven)

Production Marketing
orientation orientation

• Behavioral
sciences (e.g., psychology, social psychology,
anthropology, sociology)
• Consumer behavior evolved as a field of
enquiry after WWII owing to environmental
factors which encouraged the need for
formal theories and models of buyer
behavior
Environmental Influences After WWII

Distribution underwent a virtual

Competitive growth leading to Television emerged as the ‘great
revolution: emergence of
the situation where productive salesperson’. When combined
shopping centres and discount
capacity outstripped demand, with other media the mass
houses. Potential buyers could
thus motivating a widespread communication age hit full
purchase with convenience and
turn to the marketing concept. speed.
ease.

Engel et al. (1995)

Environmental Influences after WWII

Manufacturers used advertising

Economic growth burgeoned
and mass media power to pull
with, and the western world
new products through the
experienced an unprecedented
channel of distribution, and
period of wealth and buying
distributors had little choice but
power.
to comply.

Engel et al. (1995)

Approaches to Consumer behavior
Theory Development
• There are 3 approaches

● The a priori approach (exploration

of theories and concepts from the
behavioral sciences and introduction
in consumer behavior, e.g.,
involvement, persuasive
communication, symbolic
consumption)
• Theempirical approach (derive
patterns of consumer behavior
from empirical research using
panel data-concerned with how
things work as opposed to what
motivates those things to work)
• The eclectic approach (combines both a
priory and empirical approaches to
provide a comprehensive perspective
of consumer behavior)

● It applies theories and concepts from

behavioral sciences
● It derives findings from systematic
empirical research in consumer behavior
domain
Alternative Perspectives of
Consumer behavior
•5alternative perspectives of consumer
behavior (Marsden and Littler 1998)

● Cognitive perspective (researchers

investigate consumers’ information
processing, e.g., mental process, store &
retrieval and use of information in the
decision-making process)
• Behavioral perspective (Stimulus-Organism –Response or ‘black
box’)

• Trait
perspective (behavior of consumer is a result of enduring
personality characteristics, e.g., innovator-adaptor,
extrovert-introvert, risk taker-avoider)

• Interpretiveperspective (understanding consumer behavior at an

individual level, e.g., symbolic consumption, using qualitative
methodologies)
• Postmodern perspective (no
definition, only a loose set of
ideas as to what represents reality.
In consumer behavior
postmodernism deconstructs
common agreed-upon themes).
Positivism VS Interpretivism

Positivists are interested in knowing specific Interpretivists are interested in understanding

cause of consumer behaviour and predicting it. consumption behaviour and the meaning behind
such behaviour.
Consumer Research
Consumer Research Paradigms
● Quantitative Research (Positivism)
● Qualitative Research (Interpretivism)
● Triangulation (Quantitative+
Qualitative)
Consumer Research Process

Designing
Literature
Objectives primary
Review
research
• To find consumer • Collection of • Data Collection
attitude towards secondary data. Methods
online shopping? • Data Collection
Instrument
Consumer Research Process (Contd...)

Report the
Data Collection Analysis
Findings

• Data is collected • Software can be used. • Discussion

from respondents/ • In qualitative • Conclusion
participants, etc. research, moderator • Recommendations
or test admin
analyzes the
responses received.
Next Week
Session 2: Consumer Decision Making

Reading: Chapter 4 S/K

References
• Marsden, D. and Little, D. (1998) “Positioning Alternative Perspectives of Consumer
Behaviour”, Journal of Marketing Management, 14, p3-28.

• Lunn, J.A. (1974) “Consumer Decision Process Models”, in J.N. Sheth (Ed.) Models of
Buyer Behaviour: Conceptual, Quantitative, Empirical, p34-64, Harper & Raw.