Consumer Behaviour

Part A: A Literature Review

Consumer behaviour is the study of how individual customers, groups or organizations select, buy, use, and dispose ideas, goods, and services to satisfy their needs and wants. It refers to the actions of the consumers in the marketplace and the underlying motives for those actions (Matilla and Wirtz, 2008). Marketers expect that by understanding what causes the consumers to buy particular goods and services, they will be able to determine which products are needed in the marketplace, which are obsolete, and how best to present the goods to the consumers.

In the chapter of motivation, motivations are a hypothetical construct to define the driving forces of human behaviour (Kroeber and Weinberg, 2003) and explain why people do what they do instead of choosing an alternative option. The consumer decision-making process is influenced by many various factors in the life of the consumer. A significant role is played here by social conditions, habits, offer and demand and last but not least the sale method and technology.

Based on the lecture, consumer behaviour is largely driven by the desire to satisfy specific needs, which in return can be divided into external and internal ones (Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). The internal factors include personal and psychological factors and the external ones include cultural and social or demographic factors.

Abraham Maslow formulated a hierarchy of needs which divides motives according to five levels of significance (Maslow, 1987). The basic needs are at the bottom of the hierarchy and the highest needs in its top part. Some experts therefore applied the Maslow’s pyramid of needs for understanding of motives of buyer behaviour of consumers and subsequent efficient application of marketing communication with potential customers (Solomon et al., 2006). From the human needs to the needs of the consumers, are the basis of modern marketing, the core of the marketing conception which is related to the goal of the motivation (Solomon et al., 2006).

The basic needs of the consumer do not change but the products which satisfy them change and it will make sure that the company will remain one of the leaders in search for new and efficient solutions. In this way the companies will probably survive and they will develop despite the strong competition or adverse economic conditions. During the final purchase decision, motivation plays one of the key roles and it represents one of the factors influencing purchase behaviour of the consumer (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2004).

In short, the motivation is the drive that leads the consumer towards buying a product or service. If the motivation is high, meaning the need or perception of need is high, the individual will actively seek to satisfy that need. This results in the consumer deciding to buy the product or service. This factor is directly related to "Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs" which states that every individual will actively seek to satisfy physiological needs first, followed by safety, social, esteem and finally, self-actualization needs (Diener and Tay, 2011). Companies that successfully leverage these needs will motivate consumers to buy their products