Consumer Behavior Concepts

 

Question 1

Consumers behaviours are subject to change, the future of high street retailers highly rely on understanding the behaviour of customers and mostly customers from generation Y and generation Z (which is still to come) these two groups are the present and the future (Skeldon, 2019).  The consuming habits of generation Y show an impending apocalyptic doom for high-street retailers. Online shopping has been a rising trend in the last few decades following the rise of E-commerce giants such as Amazon and ASOS. Consumers' use of high street retailers has declined with time but there are other factors at play too. Online retailers do not incur overhead costs to include the cost of running a high street store. However, the changes taking place are as a result of direct innovation.

 When e-commerce emerged, it was dismissed as a passing wave. A survey conducted by Retail Economics on behalf of the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson revealed that in the decade to come e-commerce shopping will account for 53% of sales made (Skeldon, 2019). High street retail many be outselling e-commerce now but this is set to change in 10 years to come with e-commerce out taking high street retailers.

Question 2

In this era of personal grooming, men have also come under societal pressure to attend to their personal grooming needs. Good grooming involves the whole man, it goes way beyond the way he cuts his hair and the clothes he wears.  As consumers, their grooming needs are evolving and they are requesting more and more from the industry. The men grooming industry has gained recognition as one of the rapidly growing sectors as the number of men show more interest in the way they look and the brands associated with them (DeAcetis, 2019).

Men's grooming has led to the diversification of a sector that was mainly dominated by women. Household brands to include Dove and Nivea have dived into the male grooming market. It has also given rise to a new representation of men defined by customer involvement (Watkins, 2017). Men's engagement in the grooming sector has blurred gender roles, nevertheless, it has increased the number of men taking part in consumer activities (Watkins, 2017). The considerable growth of the male grooming market is an indicator of the changes in the way the male gender perceives and build their sense of self.       

Question 3

Packaging plays an important role in influencing the behavior of consumers. According to a survey conducted aspects of packaging inclusive of color, packaging material, design of packaging wrappers and innovative techniques used during packaging play an important role in influencing the behavior of consumers when it comes to purchasing products (Håkansson, et al., 2014). Extensive research has concluded that packaging is one of the most influential factors that influence a consumer's purchasing decision. The packaging of a product attracts a lot of attention from consumers. The outlook of a product influences and stipulates the impulse buying behavior of consumers, the packaging of a product is responsible for attracting consumers which in-return increase sales.

Companies in different sectors of the economy are shifting their focus to product packaging as a way of attracting consumers and staying ahead of the competition.  Packaging is a communication aspect that helps brands communicate and reach their target consumers.  Packaging has different elements that influence consumers thus making them change their behavior. In the food industry packaging plays an important role, consumers are presented with a wide range of grocery products, packaging in this industry plays an important part in deciding which product the customer decides to choose (Mahera, et al., 2015).

Question 4

            Core values can be regarded as the fundamental beliefs that guide the actions of an individual, an organization or a nation.  The core values of a nation are defined by the way of life of the citizens, the development of a cultural sense facilitates the development of a personality that consumers can identify with. Several core values are relevant to the study of consumer behavior (De Pelsmacker, et al., 2005). Currently, the country has many core values to include, freedom and individualism. Each core value is important to members of society since they provide a basis that can be used to segment consumers.

The core value of freedom means that a marketer has freedom of choice to choose from a wide range of alternatives available (De Pelsmacker, et al., 2005). This core value is important as it allows a large number of competitive brands that are found on shelves in supermarkets and hypermarkets.  Freedom also allows consumers to choose between the products on the shelves. Individualism is important for citizens to believe in themselves. Individualism is expressed by self-reliance, self-interest, and self-esteem.  Individualism influence the behavior of customers in a way that consumers want to associate with products they can identify with.  As time passes and generations replace each other so do the core values change, the core values my grandparents held dear are not the same core values I hold dear, As the core value of consumers changes, so does they consuming and purchasing behavior.

Question 5

For the longest time ever demographic information on large numbers of consumers has been used to study the purchasing habits. The desire to understand consumers' habits has led to the collection of huge amounts of data on consumers.  The issue of privacy is not one that has been brought around by urbanization it has existed since the man-primitive ages (Lanier, et al., 2008). The UK established the data protection Act of 2018 to regulate how organizations and businesses utilize consumer data, this act is responsible for protecting consumers and their data cannot be used without their consent. This act also gives consumers the right to stop organizations from using their data.  

From a marketer’s point of view, I believe that the use of this demographic data on consumers is necessary for understanding the habits of consumers, understanding these habits is important to ensure that products are tailored according to the need of consumers. This data is useful in understanding the expectations of the consumers (Lanier, et al., 2008). However, to ensure that the privacy of consumers is protected, personal information regarding consumers should be respects, this data is used collectively and has low chances of affecting the consumer. As a consumer, I believe that everyone has their right to privacy but this data doesn’t hurt me when used collectively. As a consumer, I believe that the use of this data is necessary if marketers are to understand the various attitudes we have towards different products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

De Pelsmacker, P., Janssens, W., & Mielants, C. (2005). Consumer values and fair-trade beliefs, attitudes and buying behaviour. International Review on Public and Non-Profit   Marketing, 2(2), 50-69.

DeAcetis, J., (2019). The Importance of Men's Grooming and Cosmetic Treatments for Business.             Retrieved from; https://www.forbes.com/sites/josephdeacetis/2019/08/12/the-importance- of-mens-grooming-and-cosmetic-treatments-for-business/#15fc3e4079d0

Håkansson, N., Kvarnström, E., & Nilsson, E. (2014). Using the Package to Influence       Consumers' Choice of Brand: A Study on the Effect of Package Communication Claims           on Propensity to Switch Brand.

Lanier Jr, C. D., & Saini, A. (2008). Understanding consumer privacy: A review and future          directions. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 2008, 1.

Mahera, M., & Daud, S., & Sana, B., & Muhammad, M., (2015). Impact of Product Packaging    on Consumers Buying Behavior: Evidence from Karachi. Journal of Marketing and    Consumer Research. 16. 35-42.

Skeldon, P., (2019). Online sales to overtake the High Street in a decade – but don’t write off       shops says study. Retrieved from; https://internetretailing.net/industry/industry/online-            sales-to-overtake-the-high-street-in-a-decade--but-dont-write-off-shops-says-study-19896

Watkins, M., (2017). Grooming Men: Consumer Culture and the Constitution of Masculine          Identities.