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Consumer Behaviour

Notes matter who we are – urban or rural, male or female, young or old, rich or poor, educated or
uneducated, believer or non-believer, or whatever – we are all consumers. We consume or use
on a regular basis food, shelter, clothing, education, entertainment, brooms, toothbrushes,
vehicles, domestic help, healthcare and other services, necessities, comforts, luxuries and even
ideas etc. Organisations realise that their marketing effectiveness in satisfying consumer needs
and wants at a profit depends on a deeper understanding of consumer behaviour. Our
consumption related behaviour influences the development of technology and introduction of
new and improved products and services.
To succeed in a dynamic marketing environment, marketers have an urgent need to learn and
anticipate whatever they can about consumers. The better they know and understand consumers,
the more advantageous it would prove in accomplishing their organisational objectives.
Marketers want to know what consumers think, what they want, how they work, how they
entertain themselves, how they play etc. They also need to comprehend personal and group
influences which have a significant impact on consumer decision-making process.
1.1 Definition of Consumer Behaviour

“Consumer behaviour refers to the actions and decision processes of people who purchase goods and
services for personal consumption.”
James F Engel, Roger D Blackwell and Paul W Miniard,
“Consumer Behaviour” (Dryden Press, 1990)
Consumer behaviour refers to “the mental and emotional processes and the physical activities of people who
purchase and use goods and services to satisfy particular needs and wants.”
Bearden et al. “Marketing Principles and Perspectives.”
“The behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of, if
products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs.”
Leon G Schiffman and Leslie Lazar Kanuk, ‘Consumer Behaviour’,
Prentice-Hall of India, 4th ed. 1991

Consumer behaviour refers to “the mental and emotional processes and the observable behaviour of consumers
during searching, purchasing and post consumption of a product or service.”
Authors

How consumers make decisions to spend their available resources such as money, time and
effort on consumption and use related items is the subject of consumer behaviour study. Consumer
behaviour has two aspects: the final purchase activity which is visible to us and the decision
process which may involve the interplay of a number of complex variables not visible to us. In
fact, purchase behaviour is the end result of a long process of consumer decision making. The
study involves what consumers buy, why they buy it, how they buy it, when they buy it, where
they buy it, how frequently they buy it and how they dispose of the product after use.

1.2 Consumer and Customer

A consumer is anyone who typically engages in any one or all of the activities mentioned in the
definition. Traditionally, consumers have been defined very strictly in terms of economic goods
and services wherein a monetary exchange is involved. This concept, over a period of time, has
been broadened. Some scholars also include goods and services where a monetary transaction is
not involved and thus the users of the services of voluntary organisations are also thought of as
consumers. This means that organisations such as UNICEF, CRY, or political groups can view
their publics as “consumers.”

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