Maria Regina C.

Espejo

Filipinos Buying Behavior: Reflection Paper

Consumers behave differently. There is huge difference between the wealthy consumers
and the less fortunate ones. However, we can say that in general, Filipinos are mostly wise
consumers; we rely on the brand that is just fit for our budget. There are many factors that affect
the behavior of the Filipino consumers and as seen in the report by Nielsen, there are four key
insights that are relevant. It is noteworthy to look at these insights and to understand how they
affect the way Filipinos buy or choose their brand.

Filipinos do love freebies and it makes them wise buyers. They look at the products if it
comes with free gifts or promotions, then it is worth buying. Filipinos love bargains, they love
things that are trendy but cheap. As said in the report, Filipinos are practical and creative and
choose things that are just right for their budget. We all know “ukay ukay” or tiangge, which a
lot of Filipinos adore for the entire sale, promos and affordable stuff they offer. Many of the
Filipinos would prefer these over the products from malls. Filipinos are indeed wise consumers.
The concept of retailing is another proof of being wise. “Patingi-tingi” as we call it, but Filipinos
would most times prefer buying the amount or number of stuff that they only need. They don’t
always need to buy whole-sale if they don’t need a lot and in this case, they save a portion of
their budget for the stuff for other things. Additionally, there is stuff that is on sale, it could go to
10% to 50% sale that would automatically make the eyes of the Filipino set upon that stuff. To
them, it’s a great deal to buy stuff that is on sale. Another one is the “buy one take one” promo
of products. There is this burger shop which offers buy one take one burgers at such a cheap
price. Although there are complaints that the burger patty is small, they still have so many
customers because it is affordable. You will also see this promo in malls, more specifically in
beauty products and household things. They would say people are “kuripot” but that is not the
case. The economy is not that good for all of the people, money is hard to earn that is why
Filipinos are wise when it comes to shopping and we can’t blame them. They are ready to spend
money for things that are necessary, trendy and luxurious as long as it is okay with their budget.
To add here though, many consumers buy something that s expensive brands because they
believe that a cheap brand is a low or poor quality and unsafe one that is why it is cheap. They
justify that if something is expensive, it is of high quality and can be trusted that it will last for a
long time. Or sometimes they buy something expensive because they just do not want to be left
out in the social trends. Moreover, it is worthy of notice that most of the people who would go to
tiangge, or ukay ukay belong to the middle and lower class. So we can say that the social status
plays a role in the behavior of the Filipino consumers. Most of the wealthy consumer would not
look at the price and would buy something if they like it.

Filipinos are loyal to brands, I can agree with this factor. Growing up, I would often hear
mothers and grandmothers suggesting brands to each other that they have proven effective for
example, whitening soap. My grandma would always suggest a brand of soap that she says she
has been using for ages. Then my mom would go on suggesting a soap brand that she has used
since she was a child and up until now. They have been loyal buyers to the brand that didn’t fail
them. We all have that go-to brand we rely on when all else fails us. We have that preferred
brand although we get tempted to switch to a cheaper, more attractive brand. A research
suggested that Filipinos are not very loyal as they are open to other concepts. I am guilty of these
myself. While shopping in the mall, I would always check other brands if they are cheaper or if
they have more to offer than the brand I was using. It is hard to stick to just one brand while
being curious with the other brands. Loyalty to a brand is affected by many factors. One is spcial.
For me, it does affect my loyalty hearing other people talk about the brand that I do not use. It
would then make me curious to try that brand. Second, psychological. It is actually a part of my
behavior to always want to try something new. That is why when they introduce newer brands,
or new stuff, I would feel an urge to just try it and see if it works for me. Lastly, for me, is
economic. If I find out that there is a new brand that is cheaper than the brand I am using, I
would decide to try that product. If I think that it offers the same or offers better than my brand
that is when I decide to switch for good. The lifestyle of the consumer also affects this factor. For
example, one has been using this brand, let’s say a clothing brand, for years and this is what fits
his or her lifestyle so it will stay as the only brand one is using since it shows who that person is,
also shows the social status.

Television does remain our main source of product information, but in here I can add the
internet. There are also so many advertisements in the internet for example on Facebook and on
YouTube videos. The whole internet is bombarded by a lot of advertisements. It is sometimes
annoying how the beginning of videos on YouTube have advertisements. It kills the excitement
of the viewer. However, it is a strategy of the company and they even pay for the advertisement
they put on the internet. In this way, they can make their products more known to the people and
would eventually spark the interest of the people. Items that are being advertised on the
television and internet are cosmetic or skin care products, food and beverage, personal care,
health care and medicine, household products and home appliance. I can attest to this influence
of television advertisements because there is this time that my mother saw a brand on tv. It says
that this brand helps relieve colds and make breathing more at ease so she then bought this brand
and was surprised that it was really effective. Whenever she sees a new brand on the television,
she would be so curious to try it.

Last but not the least of all the insights is the advertising influence brand. The way the
brand is being advertised has an impact to the sales as implied by the last insight. This is why
advertisements are given so much thought and attention. Advertisements persuade the consumers
to buy the product because it is worth the money they will be spending. Advertisements answer
questions about the product as to why people should buy it, what it is used for and more.
Creative advertisements make people remember the brand better. They would use drama or
sensible words in order to get to the emotions of the people. There are times that they would
attack other brands without naming them just to show their dominance over that brand when it
comes to the results. Advertisements with dance or music are so catchy and hard to forget.
Nowadays, some advertisements become more famous than the brand. It is important that the
advertisement is well prepared and given much thought as this is how one remembers a product.

With all these being said, the decision of buying a certain brand or product depends on
the consumer himself. However, we cannot deny the impact of many factors as mentioned above.
These factors aid the consumer to decide which product to buy. It is always up to the consumer if
he or she wants to buy a certain product. With all the issues about the economy of the country
and the poverty still being one of the worst problems, we can see that the behavior of the buyers
are just a way of saying that being wise when it comes to buying is important. Most of the people
now would buy something that is necessary instead of something that they only want.