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Unit 10: Family Influences

10.2 Nature of Family Purchases and Decision-making Notes

Much depends on income limitations coupled with family responsibilities. These two factors
influence many of the buying decisions of families. As already pointed out, young bachelors as
well as newly married young couples (assuming that both are employed) are quite likely to
have significant discretionary income.

When two or more family members are directly or indirectly involved in the decision-making
process, it is called family decision-making. Such family decisions differ from individual decisions
in many ways.

Example: If we consider the purchase of a bicycle for a child, some of the relevant aspects
to think about can be: who recognises the need for bicycle? How a brand is selected?

Some family purchases are inherently emotional and affect the relationships between family
members. The decision to buy a new dress, or a bicycle for the child is more than simply a
routine purchase. It often might be an expression of love and commitment to the child. The
decision to buy a new stereo system or television set has emotional meaning to others in the
family. The root cause of many marital discords is often related to spending the money.
Figure 10.1 depicts the decision-making for children's products.

Joint decisions are more likely to operate in the early stages of family life cycle when both
spouses are relatively less experienced. After gaining experience, they usually delegate
responsibilities concerning buying decisions to each other. When children enter the family
scene, both husband and wife assume specific roles. The husband tends to be more influential in
the early stages of the life cycle, however, the wife is likely to become increasingly influential
after a period of time, more so if she is employed and having some financial leverage over
family buying decisions.

10.3 Husband-wife Influences

Gender role preferences reflect culturally determined attitudes towards the role of husband/
wife and father/mother in the household. The relative influence of husband/wife or father/
mother is likely to vary according to (1) the nature of product (2) nature of purchase influence
and (3) family characteristics.

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