INTRODUCTION

Consumer behaviour is comparatively a new field of study which evolved just after the
Second World War. The sellers market has disappeared and buyers market has come up. This
led to paradigm shift of the manufacturers attention from product to consumer and specially
focused on the consumer behaviour. The evaluation of marketing concept from mere selling
concept to consumer- oriented marketing has resulted in buyer behaviour becoming an
independent discipline. The growth of consumerism and consumer legislation emphasizes the
importance that is given to the consumer. Consumer behaviour is a study of how individuals
make decision to spend their available resources (time, money and effort) or consumption
related aspects (What they buy? When they buy?, How they buy? etc.). The heterogeneity
among people makes understanding consumer behaviour a challenging task to marketers.
Hence marketers felt the need to obtain an in- depth knowledge of consumers buying
behaviour. Finally this knowledge acted as an imperative tool in the hands of marketers to
forecast the future buying behaviour of customers and devise four marketing strategies in
order to create long term customer relationship.
Consumer Behaviour It is broadly the study of individuals, or organisations and the processes
consumers use to search, select, use and dispose of products, services, experience, or ideas to
satisfy needs and its impact on the consumer and society. Customers versus Consumers The
term customeris specific in terms of brand, company, or shop. It refers to person who
customarily or regularly purchases particular brand, purchases particular companys product,
or purchases from particular shop. Thus a person who shops at Bata Stores or who uses
Raymonds clothing is a customer of these firms. Whereas the consumer is a person who
generally engages in the activities - search, select, use and dispose of products, services,
experience, or ideas. Consumer Motives Consumer has a motive for purchasing a particular
product. Motive is a strong feeling, urge, instinct, desire or emotion that makes the buyer to
make a decision to buy. Buying motives thus are defined as those influences or
considerations which provide the impulse to buy, induce action or determine choice in the
purchase of goods or service. These motives are generally controlled by economic, social,
psychological influences etc. Motives which Influence Purchase Decision The buying
motives may be classified into two:

i.
ii.

Product Motives
Patronage Motives

PRODUCT MOTIVES:
Product motives may be defined as those impulses, desires and considerations which make
the buyer purchase a product. These may still be classified on the basis of nature of
satisfaction:
a)

Emotional Product Motives

b) Rational Product Motives

Emotional Product Motives:

Emotional Product Motives are those impulses which persuade the consumer on the basis of
his emotion. The buyer does not try to reason out or logically analyse the need for purchase.
He makes a buying to satisfy pride, sense of ego, urge to initiate others, and his desire to be
unique.

Rational Product Motives:

Rational Product Motives are defined as those impulses which arise on the basis of logical
analysis and proper evaluation. The buyer makes rational decision after chief evaluation of
the purpose, alternatives available, cost benefit, and such valid reasons.

PATRONAGE MOTIVES:
Patronage motives may be defined as consideration or impulses which persuade the buyer to
patronage specific shops. Just like product motives patronage can also be grouped as
emotional and rational.
Emotional Patronage Motives those that persuade a customer to buy from specific shops,
without any logical reason behind this action. He may be subjective for shopping in his
favourite place.
Rational Patronage Motives are those which arise when selecting a place depending on the
buyer satisfaction that it offers a wide selection, it has latest models, offers good after-sales
service etc.

Need for Study of Consumer Behaviour:

The study of consumer behaviour helps everybody as all are consumers. It is essential for
marketers to understand consumers to survive and succeed in this competitive marketing
environment. The following reasons highlight the importance of studying consumer
behaviour as a discipline.

Importance in day to day life:

The purpose of studying a discipline is to help oneself to better appreciate its contributions.
The reason to study consumer behaviour is because of the role it plays in the lives of humans.
Most of the free time is spent in the market place, shopping or engaging in other activities.
The extra time is usually passed in knowing and thinking about products and services,
discussing with friends about them, and watching advertisements related to them. The usage
of them significantly reveals our life styles. All these reasons suggest the need for study.
However, the purpose may be to attend immediate and tangible reasons.

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behaviour:

A consumer, making a purchase decision will be affected by the following three factors:
1. Personal Factors
2. Psychological Factors
3. Social Factors
Personal Factors
It is unique for every individual. It depends on who is making the buying decision. This
includes:

Demographic Factors
Sex
Age
Race

Psychological Factors

The psychological factors include:

Need
Perception
Ability and Knowledge
Attitude
Personality
Lifestyles

Social Factors

Opinion Leaders
Roles and Family Influences
Reference Groups
Social Class
Culture and Sub-culture

These are all the theories regarding the consumer buying behavior. Now lets focus on the
male and female buying behavior.

Insight regarding consumer decision process:

1. Need Recognition
Before a purchase can ever take place, the customer must have a reason
to believe that what they want, where they want to be or how they
perceive themselves or a situation is different from where they actually
are. The desire is different from the reality this presents a problem for
the customer.
However, for the marketer, this creates an opportunity. By taking the time to create a
problem for the customer, whether they recognize that it exists already or not, youre
starting the buying process. To do this, start with content marketing. Share facts and
testimonials of what your product or service can provide. Ask questions to pull the potential
customer into the buying process. Doing this helps a potential customer realize that they have
a

need

that

should

be

solved.

2. Information Search

Once a problem is recognized, the customer search process begins. They know there is an
issue and theyre looking for a solution. If its a new makeup foundation, they look for
foundation; if its a new refrigerator with all the newest technology thrown in, they start
looking at refrigerators its fairly straight forward.
3. Evaluation of Alternatives
Just because you stand out among the competition doesnt mean a customer will absolutely
purchase your product or service. In fact, now more than ever, customers want to be sure
theyve done thorough research prior to making a purchase. Because of this, even though they
may be sure of what they want, theyll still want to compare other options to ensure their
decision is the right one.

4. Purchase
A need has been created, research has been completed and the customer has decided to make
a purchase. All the stages that lead to a conversion have been finished. However, this doesnt
mean its a sure thing. A consumer could still be lost. Marketing is just as important during
this stage as during the previous.
Marketing to this stage is straightforward: keep it simple. Test your brands purchase process
online. Is it complicated? Are there too many steps? Is the load time too slow? Can a
purchase be completed just as simply on a mobile device as on a desktop computer? Ask
these critical questions and make adjustments. If the purchase process is too difficult,
customers, and therefore revenue, can be easily lost.

5. Post-Purchase Evaluation
Just because a purchase has been made, the process has not ended. In fact, revenues and
customer loyalty can be easily lost. After a purchase is made, its inevitable that the customer
must decide whether they are satisfied with the decision that was made or not. They evaluate.
If a customer feels as though an incorrect decision was made, a return could take place. This
can be mitigated by identifying the source of dissonance, and offering an exchange that is

simple and straightforward. However, even if the customer is satisfied with his or her
decision to make the purchase, whether a future purchase is made from your brand is still in
question. Because of this, sending follow-up surveys and emails that thank the customer for
making a purchase are critical.
Take the time to understand the six stages of the consumer buying process. Doing this ensures
that your marketing strategy addresses each stage and leads to higher conversions and longterm customer loyalty.

The Differences between Women and Men buying

behaviour:
Whether (and to what extent) men and women differ has been a controversial subject for
years. Many scientists are concerned that perceived differences have led to discrimination and
unfair treatment under the assumption that one gender has attributes the other does not. While
there are observable differences between the brains of men and women and how they process
information, researchers emphasize that the differences do not reflect a superiority of a single
gender.
Furthermore, studies indicate that sex-specific characteristics fall along a broad continuum
containing substantial overlap between sexes. Trying to accurately stereotype a single
individual is difficult, if not impossible. In other words, if you pick one male and one female
out of a crowd, they could be very similar or dissimilar depending on each persons unique
characteristics. Nevertheless, recognizing the general characteristics of each sex is important
to product retailers, especially if their product is designed to appeal predominately to one sex
or the other.
Even though both sexes are capable of equivalent intellectual performance, there are
numerous physical differences between male and female brains:

Women have a thicker corpus callous, the bridge of nerve tissue that connects the left
and right side of the brain, leading women to use both sides of their brains to solve
problems. Men predominately use the left side of their brains for this purpose.

Men have a larger brain size by about 10%, but women have substantially more nerve
endings and connections (white matter) than men.

Men and women use different areas of the brain for solving tasks. For example,
women use their larger, more organized cerebral cortex to perform tasks, while men
rely on the larger proportion of gray matter in the left hemisphere of their brains. As a
consequence, women are generally better at identifying and controlling their emotions,
while men are more task-focused.

When compare the behavior of men and women, Men and women have different
expectations about the shopping experience.

Men are utilitarian shoppers, seeking to quickly and efficiently complete a task with a
minimum of social interaction and unnecessary effort. But women are not.

Not like women, Men usually shop alone, while women often shop in groups of three
or four to maximize the social aspects of shopping

These differences enable researchers to attract particular shoppers by aligning marketing

messages, advertising, product features, store layouts and displays (including colors), and
customer service with the expectations of the desired customers gender and shopping
characteristics. Being aware of the influence your gender exerts on the products you buy and
the price you pay can make you a more discriminating buyer.
GENDER DIFFERENCE IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR:

Female Buyers:

In the Indian Society it is assumed that the females of the family play a pivotal role while any
buying decision is made.

The world is changing all the time. What has not changed is that shopping is a social activity
for women.

Women like to shop with her friends. They encourage and advise each other to purchase
different products.

Women

want

to

have

many

choices.

Ex: Traditional & Latest choices of women

Today's modern women have less patience and less time to look for stores to get the best
price.
o

Ex: Shopping in social media

A woman makes purchasing decisions based on price and quality.

Women prefer to shop in stores that she has a relationship to work actively with loyalty
programs and customer activities.

Women are proud to shop in some stores.

Her system of problem-solving takes a long time and involves making everything personal.

We also see that the responsible for regulating emotion, is larger in women.

Womens buying decisions always end up being the right ones.

Understanding a woman's buying process is crucial when you are in a sales situation.

What women want, Women, especially working mothers, lead time-pressured lives and
therefore appreciate products that simplify tasks and relieve anxieties

Women Are More Likely to Purchase Brands They Follow

Most of the women think the primary benefit is being alerted to coupons, promotions and
deals by connecting with brands on social media.

Women like a collaborative conversational style dialogue.

Women preferred strong colours and evocative images.

Girls prefer more feminine qualities in an advert such as soft music.

Women shoppers values sales associates who make them feel important

Male Buyers:

Men want a quick and effortless process

Men usually pick up on one or two very obvious kinds of cues.

Men will need to be shown the big picture as they think in a more macro way.

Men are less likely to process complex metaphors.

Men enjoy humour in adverts and are usually more crude and aggressive.

Men find a 'chatty' style in adverts annoying. They prefer hard data and concise language.

Men do not really respond to any colours and images seem irrelevant.

Men value the sales associates effort in getting them through checkout quickly

Difficulty in finding parking close to the stores entrance is the top problem for men

Men act almost as if they are dealing with an ATM machine; In fact, they want to deal with an
ATM machine. They really dont want to deal with a person

Men want quick answers.

Men are less likely to hunt for bargains or use coupons. Men are also more likely to
accept a less-than-ideal product, preferring to avoid another shopping trip.

Men arent major comparison shoppers and theyre willing to pay a little more to
speed up the process than to spend time hunting down bargains.

Men seldom compare prices. Men dont care if the item is on sale. Men really dont
care about the colour. Men sometimes compare quality, but usually only when it
involves tools.