This document provides an introduction to consumer behavior. It defines consumer behavior as the actions and decision-making processes of individuals who purchase goods and services for personal use. It also defines a customer as someone who purchases products, while a consumer is the end user of goods and services. The document discusses the nature and characteristics of Indian consumers, noting they are a heterogeneous group with a young demographic, aspirational nature, value consciousness, and diversity in religion, dress, food, and more. It also outlines factors that influence consumer behavior like personality, motivation, family, culture and advertising.

1. CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
Dr.M.KOTTEESWARAN,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR,
SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT,
VELS INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ADVANCED STUDIES,
(VISTAS)
CHENNAI.

2. UNIT-I
Introduction of Consumer Behaviour- Introduction to
the study of Consumer Behaviour: Meaning & Definition
of CB, Difference between consumer & Customer, Nature
& Characteristics of Indian Consumers, Consumer
segmentation-bases of segmentation. Its origin,
strategic application, relationship of consumer
Behaviour to strategy.

3. Introduction of Consumer Behaviour
Consumer behaviour is a central part of your life.
It is a changing process where you could be a user,
buyer, seller, influencer and an environmentally
conscious consumer during different stages of your
life.
You may be involved in the process individually or
collectively.
You may buy brands habitually or accept alternatives
in an out-of-stock situation. You may take some time
deciding on high-priced purchases, rationally
evaluating the options.

4. Meaning
Any individual who purchases goods and
services from the market for his/her end-use
is called a consumer.
The behavior that consumers display in
searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating
and disposing of products, services and ideas.

5. Definition
“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)

6. Definition
According to Louden and Bitta,
‘consumer behaviour is the decision process
and physical activity, which individuals engage
in when evaluating, acquiring, using or
disposing of goods and services’.

7. Nature of Consumer Behaviour
1. Systematic process -systematic process relating to buying decisions of the
customers.
2. Influenced by various factors -personal, psychological, situational, social
and cultural etc.
3. Different for different customers -All consumers do not behave in the same
manner. Different consumers behave differently.
4. Different for different products -who may buy more quantity of certain
items and very low quantity of some other items.
5. Vary across regions -The consumer behaviour vary across States, regions and
countries
6. Vital for marketers -Marketers need to have a good knowledge of consumer
behaviour / The knowledge of consumer behaviour enables marketers to take
appropriate marketing decisions.

8. Nature of Consumer Behaviour
7. Reflect status -Those consumers who owned luxury cars, watches and other
items are considered by others as persons of higher status.
8. Result in spread effect -The buying behaviour of one person may
influence the buying behaviour of another person.
9. Undergoes a change -The consumer behaviour undergoes a change over
a period of time depending upon changes in age , education and income level etc,
10.Information search -Search for information is a common consumer
behaviour / cannot purchase goods and services if they are unaware that a good or service.
11.Brand loyalty -Brand loyalty is the tendency of a consumer to buy products
or services from a certain company that one likes

9. Factors affecting consumer behavior
 Internal Factors
 Personality
 Motivation
 Experiences
• External Factors
 Family influence
 Influence from friends and colleagues
 Influence from an environment in which a consumer lives
 Culture
 Influence from Advertising

10. Scope of Consumer Behaviour
1. Consumer behaviour and marketing management-A sound
understanding of consumer behaviour is essential to the long run success of any
marketing program.
2. Consumer behaviour and non profit and social marketing -In
today's world even the non-profit organisations like government agencies, religious
sects, universities and charitable institutions have to market their services
3. Consumer behaviour and government decision making
i) Government services -government provision of public services can benefit
significantly from an understanding of the consumers
ii) consumer protection-government are involved with regulating business
practices for the purpose of protecting consumers welfare.
4. Consumer behaviour and demarketing -The term "demarketing"
refers to all such efforts to encourage consumers to reduce their consumption of a
particular product or services.
5. Consumer behaviour and consumer education -consumers have
the opportunity to understand better how they affect their own behaviour.

11. Importance of consumer behaviour
1. Production policies -changes in consumer behaviour so that necessary
changes in products may be made.
2. Price policies-particular articles are cheaper than the competitive articles
3. Decision regarding channels of distribution-The goods,
which are sold and solely on the basis of low price mast and economical distribution
channels
4. Decision regarding sales promotion-promotional campaigns to
awaken desire to purchase.
5. Developing marketing opportunities-Study of consumer
behaviour helps the marketers to understand the consumers needs, aspirations,
expectations, problems etc

12. Importance of consumer behaviour
6. Consumer do not always act or react
predictably -The consumers response indicates that the shift had occurred.
7. Highly diversified consumer preferences -
This shift has occurred due to availability of more choice now.
8. Rapid introduction of new products-: Rapid
introduction of new product with technological advancement
9. Implementing the "Marketing concept“ -
identification of target market before production becomes essential to deliver the
desired customer satisfaction and delight.

13. Applications of consumer behaviour
1. Analyzing market opportunity
2. Selecting target market
3. Marketing-mix decisions
4. Use in social and non profits marketing

14. Who is a Customer?
Derived from the word ‘custom’, customers are defined
as those individuals who buy products or services after
paying the monetary price for the same.

15. Different Types of Customers
 Loyal Customer- These customers are satisfied with the services and quality of
products from a brand or store. Therefore, they tend to return multiple times for
purchases
 Trade Customers- These customers buy products to add value to the items and resell
them for a profit. For example, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and other such
entities are trade customers since they are not the end-user of the goods they purchase.
 Final Customers- People who purchase products for their own use are known as final
customers. In such a case, no reselling or profit generation takes place after goods
purchase.
 Discount Customers- These customers only purchase goods and items when there is a
discount applied to the products.
 Impulsive Customers- These customers are difficult to persuade because they don't buy
a specific product but rather buy anything they think is excellent and fruitful at the time.
 Need-Based Customers- These customers tend to limit their purchase to only those
items or goods, which they require.
 Wandering Customers- These are the least valuable customers because they are unsure
of what they want to buy.

16. Defining Consumer
A consumer is a person who consumes a product or
service without the permission of the buyer. A
consumer, in simple words, is someone who buys or
utilizes goods or services.

17. Types of Consumers
 The Extrovert Type: People who fall into this category are those who have a thing
for branded goods. They will almost certainly continue with them and attempt to
become loyal.
 The Inferior Goods Type: These consumers generally suffer from low income,
which forces them to seek inexpensive products for consumption. As a result,
people are obligated to purchase only those items that are necessary for their
existence.
 The Commercial Type: This group of people buy products and goods in bulk,
irrespective of their actual needs or requirements. This group of customers will
buy goods and products in large quantities, regardless of their actual needs. This
could be utilized for commercial purposes or not.
 The Discrete Type: As the name implies, these customers prefer to shop
discreetly. Simply said, they will consider spending a significant amount of money
on only a few specialized products, such as cosmetics, jewelry, or clothing. These
consumers have a unique buying habit, generally spending a considerable sum of
money on electronic products and apparel.

18. Q. All Consumers are Customers, but not all Customers are
Consumers. Is this statement true or false?
False A person needs to buy products and goods to qualify as a
customer. However, a consumer may not necessarily be the buyer
of the product. For instance, if goods are gifted to an individual,
he/she is still the consumer but not the buyer in this instance.
Similarly, customers who purchase products to resell cannot be
categorized as consumers of the said item. Thus, not all
customers are consumers.

19. Difference Between Customer vs Consumer
BASIS FOR COMPARISON CUSTOMER CONSUMER
Meaning The purchaser of goods or
services is known as the
Customer.
The end user of goods or
services is known as a
Consumer.
Resell A customer can be a business
entity, who can purchase it for
the purpose of resale.
No
Purchase of goods Yes Not necessary
Purpose Resale or Consumption Consumption
Price of product or service Paid by the customer May not be paid by the
consumer
Person Individual or Organization Individual, Family or Group of
people

20. Characteristics of Indian Consumers
1. Consumers in India are very heterogeneous in composition, both in terms of
social and cultural aspects and economic status
2. Young Demographics
3. Aspirational Consumer
4. Value Consciousness
5. Networked Consumer
6. Socially Conscious
7. Brand Switchers
8. Thinking Beyond Categories
9. Religious Diversity
10.Diversity in Dress and Food Habits
11.Working Women
12.Conservatives
13.Raising Purchasing Power
14.Indian consumers have a high degree of family orientation
15.Indian Consumers are also associated with values of nurturing, care and
affection.