Consumer behavior is the study of how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources (time, money, effort) on consumption-related items. It looks at how products or services are selected, purchased, and disposed of. Understanding consumer behavior is important for businesses as it helps with segmentation, identifying opportunities and threats, and formulating effective marketing strategies. Several models have been developed to understand and explain the various factors that influence consumer decision making.

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
By Balachandar K.

2. Why study Consumer Behavior?
• The Consumer is King.
• Only the Customer Can Fire Us All.
• People are different.
• Consumer behavior educates and protects consumers.
• Consumer behavior helps formulate public policy.
• Consumer behavior affects personal policy.
Reference Book:- Consumer Behavior by Blackwell, Miniard and Engel

3. • It’s helpful in understanding needs.
• Helps in defining markets and identifying
threats and opportunities of a brand.
• Segmentation becomes easy.

4. What is consumer behavior?
“Consumer Behavior is the study of the process involved when
individuals or groups select, purchase, dispose of products
or services to satisfy needs and desires”
It’s a combination of five disciplines
– Psychology
– Sociology
– Anthropology
– Economics
– Marketing Management

5. Who influence a consumer?

6. Obtaining
• The activity that leading up to and including
purchase or receipt of a product.
– How they get information?
– How they decide what to buy?
– Where you buy?
– How you pay for it?
– How you take it to their home?

7. Meaning of Consumption
“People don’t buy products for what they do but
for what they mean”
Different types of relationship:-
Self concept – user’s self image.
Nostalgic attachment – past self
Interdependence – part of users daily routine.
Love – emotional bonds with the user.
Reference book:- Consumer behavior buying, having and being. Author:-
Solomon, Fifth edition.

8. • How they use the product?
• How they store they product in their home?
• Who use the product?
• How much they consume?
• How they compare with expectations?

9. Disposing
• How they get rid of remaining product?
• How much they throw away after use?
• How they recycle the product?

10. Dark side of consumer behavior
• Addictive consumption – Gambling, Alcohol, Drugs.
• Compulsive consumption – Shopaholics, not by choice.
• Consumed consumption – Consumers who are exploited.
Eg) Adopting a baby, organ donors, blood donors.
• Illegal activities – Theft.
• Anti-consumption – People who create aversion towards a
product eg) Burned lungs image, V-care shampoo ad.

11. Mr. Bloomberg Story
Xerox Story – Videos
Resume tip #2

12. Consumer Behavior Models
Traditional Models:-
– Economic Model
Contemporary Models:-
– Consumer Decision Process Model
– Black Box Model
– Psychoanalytic Model
– Learning Model
– Sociological Model
– Nicosia Model (1966)
– Howard Sheth Model
– Andreason Model (1965)
– Engel Kollat Blackwell Model (1972)
– Sheth Newman Gross Model (1991)

13. Economic Model
Micro economic model:-
– Alfred Marshall
ASSUMPTIONS:-
- it’s not possible to satisfy customers, they have unlimited
needs and wants
- Customer allot budget to maximize the utility
- No external influence, preference don’t change
- Customers know the utility of a product hence they know
the level of satisfaction.
- Price determines the purchase.
- Law of Diminishing Marginal Utility.

14. Economic Model
• Macro Economic Model:-
– Based on Monetary Value of the Goods.
– James Duesenberry – people’s consumption is
primarily governed by peers and social groups.
– When people move up in the social class the
consumption varies.
– Milton Friedman (1957), people love to have a
standard living.

17. Stimulus Response Model or Buyer
Black box model

18. Andreason Model (1965)
• Message reaches consumer through Five basic
sense.
• Filtered by perception and attitude
determines the purchase.

19. Psychoanalytic Model
• ID
– It’s related to the Pleasure Principle. Needs should be
satisfied else it will lead to tension and anxiety.
– It’s satisfied by the Primary Process.
• Ego
– It works with Reality Principle, tries to satisfy the needs in
realistic and socially appropriate ways.
– It satisfies the need through Secondary Process
• Super Ego
– It hold all our moral acquired from the society and parents.
It provides guidelines to make judgments.
– Ego Ideal – rules and standards for good behavior.
– The Conscience - information viewed as bad by parents
and society.

20. LEARNING MODEL

21. SOCIOLOGICAL MODEL

22. NICOSIA MODEL 1966

23. Engel Kollat Blackwell Model
• By 1990’s this model got modification and it got
named as Engel Kollat Miniard model.
– Decision Process Stage
• Five stage decision process
– Information input
• Internal search and external search.
– Information processing
Exposure → Attention →Perception →Acceptance →Retention
– Variables influencing the decision process
• External influences

24. Howard Sheth Model

25. • Inputs
– Significative stimuli – Price, Quality and availability.
– Symbolic stimuli – Verbal and Visual traits
– Social stimuli – family, reference group
• Processing of Inputs
– Stimulus Ambiguity
– Perceptual Bias
– Overt Search
– Learning Constructs – Brand comprehension, choice.

26. Perceptual Constructs
• All the information that is received may not
merit `attention' and the intake is subject to
perceived uncertainty and lack of
meaningfulness of information received
(stimulus ambiguity).
• This ambiguity may lead to an overt search for
information about the product.

27. Sheth Newman Gross Model of
Consumption Values
Functional Value
Social Value
Emotional Value
Epistemic Value
Conditional Value

28. • Functional Value
– Utilitarian function – Perceived satisfaction or
dissatisfaction (Benefit) - happiness
– Value Expressive function – use of the product
(society)
– Ego defensive function – consumers buy to defend
their ego
– Knowledge function – consumer get clarity with
peers when they are in ambiguous situation.

29. • Emotional value
– Emotions play a role in buying a product.
• Social value
– Social image induces a person to buy a product.
• Epistemic Value
– Set of values that satisfies their perceived satisfaction
and dissatisfaction. Novelty of the product helps to
sell the product
• Conditional Value
– Situational factors induce the customer to buy the
product