This document discusses identifying and understanding consumers. It covers consumer demographics like age, income, and lifestyle factors like culture and attitudes. Consumer needs and desires as well as shopping behaviors are examined. The consumer decision process and environmental factors that can influence shopping are also summarized. Retailers are advised to understand these concepts to better target and serve their consumer markets.

1. Identification and
Understanding Consumers
Dr. Gopal Thapa
Tribhuvan University
thapazee@gmail.com

2. Identification and Understanding Consumers
 Consumer demographics and lifestyle
 Consumer needs and desires
 Shopping attitudes and behaviours
 Retailor actions
 Environmental factors

3. Consumer Demographics
 Demographics are objective, quantifiable, easily identifiable and measurable population
data
 It includes: Sex, age, population growth rate, life expectancy, literacy, language spoken,
household size, marital and family status, income, retail sales, mobility, place of residence,
occupation, education, ethnic/racial background

4. Consumer Lifestyles
 Consumer lifestyles are based on social and psychological factors and influenced by
demographics
 Retailer should first have some knowledge of consumer lifestyle concepts and then
determine the lifestyle attributes of its own target market.
 Social factors which are useful to identify and understand lifestyles are: culture, social
class, reference group , family lifecycle, time utilization (eating, sleeping, shopping, work,
transportation, recreation etc.)

5. Consumer Lifestyles
 Psychological factors which help in identifying and understanding consumer lifestyle are:
▪ Personality
▪ Class consciousness
▪ Attitudes
▪ Perceived risk
▪ The importance of purchase

6. Consumers Needs and Desires
 Needs are a person’s basic shopping requirements consistent with his or her present
demographics and lifestyle
 Desires are discretionary shopping goals that have an impact on attitude and behavior
 Consumers today spend proportionately less on basic necessities, such as food clothing and
shelter, than 25-50 years ago. But they spend more on discretionary purchases that are
motivated by emotion and desire.

7. Shopping Attitudes and Behavior
 Attitudes toward shopping
▪ Shopping enjoyment: pleasurable shopping, bargaining, recreational browsing like window
shopping, pampered by salespeople, opportunity to go out of house.
 Attitudes toward shopping time
 Shifting feelings about retailing
 Why people buy or do not buy on a shopping trip
 Attitudes by market segment
 Attitudes toward private brands

8. Shopping Attitudes and Behavior
 Where people shop
▪ Consumers do cross shopping
▪ Shop for a product category at more than one retail
format during the year or
▪ Visit multiple retailers on one shopping trip

9. Consumer Buying Decision Process
 Stimulus
 Problem awareness
 Information search
 Evaluation of alternatives
 Purchase
 Post purchase behaviour

10. Types of Consumer Decision Making
 Extended decision making
 Limited decision making
 Routine decision making

11. Retailer Actions
 Mass Marketing: any kind of customer
 Concentrated Marketing: Distinct customer group like working women
 Differentiated Marketing: Two or more distinct customer group like men and boys

12. Environmental Factors Affecting Consumers
 State of economy
 Rate of inflation
 Infrastructure, traffic congestion, crime rate, ease of parking
 Price war among retailers
 Emergence of new retail formats
 Trend toward more people working at home
 Government and community regulations regarding shopping hours, new construction,
consumer protection etc.