Consumption and Consumer Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Consumption and Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example (Perner n.d.) Researchers in sociology argue that consumption is both a cultural as well as an economic phenomenon; therefore participation in consumer culture is not restricted to those with financial resources to actually purchase goods. The new middle classes, gender, race and youth influence the development of consumer culture. In her seminal work Consumer Culture, Celia Lury argues that consumer culture should be considered as a subset of material culture; that in its current form consumer culture is characterised by 'stylization', following notions of the 'aestheticisation' of everyday life; the ability of subordinate social groups to influence development of consumer culture. This in turn suggests their relative autonomy form dominant structures of economic and social power and to an extent breaks down the distinction between high and low culture, thus levelling or augmenting social change (cited in Bowlby 1997 and Horrocks 1997). The implications of Lury's theses to marketers are obvious. Aesthetics in product presentation are as important as contents. Children, youth and other subordinate groups, which do not form dominant structures of economic and social power, determine or influence consumption. Marketers have data, analytical ability, practical tools and experience to understand consumer behaviour and presumably have the ability to influence it. Yet marketers influencing consumer behaviour on such a scale as to make their company's gigantic successes are an exception rather than the rule, the honourable exceptions being companies like Tesco, Dove, Innocent and iPod. Professor Andrew Ehrenberg observed "that keeping things the same would represent a reasonable success for most promotional campaigns." (Marketing theory2007). On the other hand from a consumer's viewpoint is buying a simple process Is it just that people recognise the need for a product, locate a place to buy it, buy it and consume it According to the post-modern approach, there are a lot of influences that affect the 'simple process'. The experience of Wal-Mart's Latin America operations have important lesson for marketers. The retail chain designed its stores the way they are in the US, with narrow aisles broad parking areas and red, white and blue banners. Latin Americans like wide aisles because they visit super markets with their large families; large parking lots do not appeal to them, as many do not own cars and the banners appeared to them as 'Yankee imperialism'. Consumer's buying behaviour is influenced by cultural, social, personal and psychological factors but in this mix cultural factors dominate. (Kotler 2003, p.183). The following diagram depicts the stimulus-organism-response model of buying behaviour: Model of buyer behaviour- Adapted from Kotler 2003, p. 184 According to Kotler, culture, subculture and social class largely determine the consumer's buying behaviour. (Kotler 2003, p. 183). Culture or civilisation is an individual's highest form of identification with the society. Each culture has within itself - sub-cultures - smaller