Consumer behaviour: factors, buying decision process and family life cycle

1. Meaning and importance

Consumer behaviour is “the behaviour that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using, evaluating and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs” (Schiffman and Kanuk). It asks who buys, what, why, when, where, how often and how they use it.

Its study matters because it helps the firm design products that meet needs, segment the market, choose the right price, channel and message, predict demand, and build loyalty. It also helps government and consumer bodies frame consumer protection policy.

2. Factors influencing consumer behaviour

Kotler groups them under four heads. Set them out as a table first, then a paragraph each.

(a) Cultural factors. Culture is the most basic cause of a person’s wants: values learned from family and society (thrift, gold as security, respect for elders). Sub-cultures — religion, region, language, caste — create distinct tastes in food, dress and festivals. Social class (based on income, education, occupation) shows in preferences for brands, stores and leisure.

(b) Social factors. Reference groups are groups that influence a person’s attitudes: membership groups (friends, colleagues) and aspirational groups (celebrities). Opinion leaders within them spread new products. The family is the most important buying organisation; the roles of initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and user may be held by different members. A person’s roles and status (manager, parent) lead to purchases that signal that status.

(c) Personal factors. Age and life-cycle stage change needs (toys, education, housing, health care). Occupation shapes purchases (uniforms, tools, business travel). Economic situation — income, savings, credit — decides what is affordable. Lifestyle (activities, interests, opinions) and personality and self-concept (confident, sociable, cautious) lead people to brands that match their image.

(d) Psychological factors (November 2022).

• Motivation. A need becomes a motive when it is strong enough to drive action. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (A.H. Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation”, 1943) ranks them: physiological, safety, social (belonging), esteem and self-actualisation. A person satisfies the lower before the higher; a marketer positions the product at the relevant level (insurance at safety, luxury cars at esteem).
• Perception. The process by which a person selects, organises and interprets information. Because of selective attention, distortion and retention, two people see the same advertisement differently.
• Learning. Change in behaviour from experience; a satisfying purchase leads to repeat purchase and brand loyalty.
• Beliefs and attitudes. Settled opinions and feelings about a product or brand (“Japanese cars are reliable”). Attitudes are hard to change, so firms try to fit products into existing attitudes.

3. The buyer decision process

1. Need recognition. The buyer feels a gap between actual and desired state, from an internal stimulus (hunger) or an external one (an advertisement).
2. Information search. From personal sources (family, friends), commercial sources (advertisements, salesmen, websites), public sources (reviews, consumer organisations) and experience.
3. Evaluation of alternatives. The buyer compares brands on the attributes that matter to him and forms preferences.
4. Purchase decision. The buyer decides brand, dealer, quantity, timing and payment. Others’ attitudes and unexpected situations (price change, job loss) can still intervene.
5. Post-purchase behaviour. Satisfaction leads to repeat purchase and good word of mouth; dissatisfaction to complaint or switching. Doubt after a major purchase is cognitive dissonance; warranties and follow-up calls reduce it.

Worked example: buying a laptop. A law student’s old laptop keeps crashing during online classes (need recognition). She asks seniors, reads reviews and compares prices online (information search). She shortlists three brands and weighs battery life, weight, price under Rs. 60,000 and service centres in her city (evaluation). She chooses one, buys it online during a festival sale with a no-cost EMI (purchase decision). It performs well; she writes a good review and recommends it to her batch; had it failed she would have used the warranty or complained (post-purchase).

4. Types of buying behaviour

5. The traditional family life cycle

The family life cycle (Wells and Gubar, 1966) traces the stages a family passes through, each with its own buying pattern.

1. Bachelor stage: young, single, few burdens; buys fashion, recreation, vehicles, holidays.
2. Newly married couple, no children: high purchase of durables, furniture, holidays.
3. Full nest I: youngest child under six; buys baby food, medicines, a home; savings low.
4. Full nest II: youngest child six or over; school fees, food in bulk, bicycles.
5. Full nest III: older couple with dependent children; replaces durables, higher education, better furniture.
6. Empty nest I: children have left, head still working; travel, home improvement, luxuries.
7. Empty nest II: head retired; medical care, health products, lower income.
8. Solitary survivor: in work or retired; needs care, security and attention.

The modern view adds non-traditional households: single parents, unmarried couples, divorced persons and joint families, which matter greatly in India.

How this is examined

“Define consumer behaviour. Briefly explain the different factors that affect consumer behaviour” (December 2018) is the standard essay: definition, the four-head table, a paragraph per head with Indian examples, Maslow inside motivation. “Describe the stages of consumer buying behaviour process with a suitable example” (August 2024) needs section 3 and the worked example in your own words. “Write a note on any one factor influencing consumer behaviour” (February 2025) is best answered with psychological factors. The family life cycle is a 6-mark list with one buying trait per stage.