2. Why Consumers Buy
Abraham Maslow Theory
• He said that people needs are in hierarchy.
• At the base are psychological needs. Food, water
and shelter.
• As these are met higher needs emerge for
safety, security and protection from the
environment.
• Once this is done social needs arise for affection
from family and friends and to belong to a group.
• Higher order needs include the needs for esteem,
self respect, success, prestige and achievement.
4. Why Consumers Buy
• But people are definitely locked as people
pursuing for esteem also have to fulfill
psychological need.
• Needs that dominate a particular culture
depends heavily on the level of development.
• More developed a society, there is more need
for products that satisfy esteem.
• Care must be adopted in following this model
internationally as this study was done in western
countries and may not hold true in eastern
culture.
5. What Consumers Buy
• Market Basket differs from countries to
countries although most products are bought
to satisfy basic psychological needs.
Example of beef. In thai and Hindu cultures
consumption of beef is minimal for cultural
and religious reasons.
• When Disney expanded to Europe just outside
Paris they did not offer alcoholic beverages as
they are banned in US in a park. To avoid
losses they had to offer these drinks.
6. Who Makes Purchase Decision
• The Marketer must know who in the market is
the primary decision maker.
• In Japanese culture housewife makes major
consumption decisions from food to leisure.
From saving to kids education.
• In Libya, it is the other way round as man
make all buying decisions.
• In US people make their own buying decisions
from children to teens and to adults. That
reflects on INDIVIDUALISM we earlier studied.
7. How Much Consumers Buy
• Even the quantity of products bought in different
cultures is not the same. American make
purchases on weekly basis.
• In Europe and Japan purchasing is done on daily
basis and that is due to shortage of storage space.
This cultural aspect actually dictates packaging
size.
• In Spain 2 litre coke bottles failed as the local
population uses small size refrigerators which
could not accommodate this size.
• In Japan when Philips introduced small size coffee
maker sales took off.
