TABLE OF CONTENTS Consumer buyer behaviour relates to the end customer, the individuals who purchase products and services for personal consumption. This section will summarize the main sources of influence on consumer buyer behaviour (see Figure 5.1), in order to illustrate the influences that affect consumers' purchasing decisions. These influences can be broken down into four major categories: social, personal, psychological and situational.
There are a range of social influences on a consumer's purchasing behaviour:
Culture Behaviour is largely learned so the traditions, values and attitudes of the society an individual is brought up in will influence their behaviour. Cultural norms form the codes that direct behaviour. Therefore, in an informal culture, such as the USA or the UK, the use of first names in a formal business meeting may be acceptable. In other cultures, such as mainland China, more formal behaviour would be the norm. Within a larger culture there are obviously some subcultures; these may be based on religion, nationality, geographical areas or racial groups.
Social class An individual's social class has been seen as an important influence on consumer behaviour, with individuals in lower social groups generally being seen to be more culture-bound. Social class groupings are heavily dependent upon a society's cultural background. Some societies are more hierarchical than others; many have a few people in the top and bottom classes with the majority in the middle. However, some societies, such as Scandinavia and Japan, have...
