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Unit 4: Rural Consumer Behaviour

Notes
Did u know? ITC’s e-Choupal and the Lintas Media Group have launched a live rural data
collection methodology called Bharat Barometer. This is an initiative to uncover facts
about rural consumers in an efficient way.

Personality Types

Karen Horney proposed that people can be classified in three personality types.

1. Compliant types who seek company, want love and appreciation
2. Aggressive types go against others and try to excel to gain admiration
3. Detached types who remain away, want independence from interference and are keen to
be solo winners
Let us discuss consumer materialism and compulsive buying. Materialistic people enjoy buying
valuable goods and showing them off, which makes them egocentric and self centered. They
believe that their possessions would project their lifestyle and yet no possession gives them real
satisfaction because the more you have the more you want and there is no end to wanting. “My
Swiss villa proves that I am a successful person”, is the thinking of a materialistic consumer.
Pepsi has been positioned as a drink for the youth and to counter it. Coke is positioned there too.
Maruti 800 is positioned as the common man’s car while Honda City has the slot of upper class
car. Raymond Suiting is in the top position for the elite while Mayur Suiting is for the middle
class.

Task Discuss the purchase motivation among your friends.

4.3 Factors Affecting the Purchase Decision of the Rural Consumer

The rural consumer enquiries more about the price and quality of a product before taking a final
decision to buy it. He also takes into account the prospective use and utility out of the transaction
he would make.

Price and Quality

There may be rural consumers with unique personalities. But mostly rural consumers prefer to
experiment and than buy a particular product, especially, the products like. Computer note
pads, palm top computers electronic goods, etc.
Some rural customers may be of dogmatic type with rigid behaviour pattern. They will remain
stick to their special choice of brand. It is difficult to canvass on persuade then to buy new
product.
Open-minded consumers in the villages take to new products easily.
Social “typesets”: Self centered persons look for answers within themselves while extroverts
are ready and at times eager to find out what their peers and seniors have to say, (who says what
becomes important and a significant purchase decision tool).

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