Category: Consumer Behavior

Political consumerism is becoming an increasingly popular form of political participation as its impacts of causing positive global changes are becoming more significant outside of conventional political methods such as voting (Breivik et al. 2007).

Defining political consumption is key to understanding its aims. As argued by Follesdal et al. (2004, pp. xiv) political consumption is:

Consumer choice of producers and products with the goal of changing objectionable institutional or market practices. It is based on attitudes and values regarding issues of justice, fairness, or noneconomic issues that concern personal and family well-being and ethical or political assessment of business and government practice.

This definition emphasises how consumers are taking political responsibility as argued by Crépault (2013, pp. 95-96) into their own hands by using market actions to portray their political concerns. The overall aim is to cause positive changes to institutional and market practices (Breivik et al. 2007; Follesdal et al. 2004).

The most significant cause which drives political consumerism is the process of globalization (Harrison 2005, pp.55-70 ; Beck 2000). Footloose enterprises take increasing control of markets which causes citizens to loose the power they conventionally had through voting- they therefore turn to political consumerism to publicly target transnationals and regain their power.

Moreover, there are many motivators for people to join the social movement of political consumerism (Bossy 2011). Ranging from; ethical reasons which are most common such as concern about workers and animal rights to social reasons such as wanting to construct a positive, healthy social identity (Dulsrud and Jacobsen 2007).

This essay aims to critically assess the effectiveness of political consumerism by using methods such as boycotts and buycotts to beneficially change the practices of governments and co-operations. It therefore also evaluates the limitations such as; the dependence of class, income and education which, along with examples will be discussed in this essay.

The substantial increase in the engagement of political consumerism as shown by the activity of boycotting quadrupled over the last three decades (Hooghe et al. 2005) shows its increased popularity which has caused its many benefits globally.

There are two main types of boycotting which aim to cause positive change. The first being boycotting products to criticise the role of governments (Linton 2003). Historical examples of this include; American citizens avoiding British goods which led to the shaping of the American revolution (Breen 2004), as well as boycotts being used as a worldwide tool to further the civil rights movement against the apartheid regime in South Africa (Seidman 2003). The success of these schemes has led to boycotts still being used in the current day. An example of this can be seen how American citizens used their purchasing power to show their political annoyance over the French government opposing the approval of the “ UN security council resolution” to allow US military force against Iraq. They acted by restaurants dropping French wines and foods from their menus which aimed to hurt French exports and hence economy (Hooghe et al. 2005, pp. 245-246).

The second most common use of political consumerism actions is to change the practices of corporations by raising awareness of issues that aims to damage stocks and shareholders’ values forcing companies to take action (Dulsrud and Jacobsen 2007).

One of the largest methods to target business practices is the action of boycotting which is carried out in many forms such as through the creation of labeling schemes. Labeling schemes aim to provide simple information on food, ecosystems such as forests and clothing to encourage consumers to buy products which have been certified as ethical and therefore to boycott others (Micheletti and Stolle 2013).

Firstly, labeling schemes are used on food products- the largest example being Fairtrade. The influence of Fairtrade can be seen as it is trusted by 83% of UK shoppers when deciding if a product is ethical (Fairtrade Foundation 2019) and has been argued by Max Havelaar in Reed (2009, p.5 ) as an “Immediate success”. It aims to promote food products that have met high ethical standards of working conditions of farmers and to advertise the values of green political consumerists who are following the ‘organic movement’ away from genetically modified food. The success can be seen how global brands such as Nestle, Heinz and Mcdonald’s eliminated certain GM foods from their lines and how some companies even made their own private GM labels to attract ethical customers such as Tesco (Micheletti and Stolle 2013, pp. 141-142).

Secondly, another use of labeling schemes is forest and marine stewardship, which aim to promote products which sustainably use natural resources and discourage products which do not. Impacts of this can be seen how Ikea furniture was boycotted due to it not being certified with a label because of its extensive forest degradation (Micheletti and Stolle 2013, pp. 149-159).

Thirdly, labeling schemes can be used in clothing such as the “White label campaign” which was an anti-sweatshop labelling scheme to encourage American women to only buy underwear certified ‘sweatshop free’ and to boycott others (Sklar 1998, pp. 17-36).

The overall aim is to decrease sales of non-ethical goods to pressure companies to change their ways in order to increase sales.

Another method political consumers use to advocate their views is the direct boycotting of products without the use of labelling schemes. An example of this is the international boycott of Nestle against the inappropriate marketing of infant formulae in developing countries. This boycott caused extreme changes as it forced the production of the ‘International code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes’ which Nestle, and companies had to adhere to in the future( Bar-Yam 1995).

Moreover, Globalisation has played a significant role in extending the reach that political consumerism campaigns such as boycotts can occur. A good example is Paretti’s famous email exchange with Nike which reached 11.4 million people in which he requested ‘sweatshop’ to be personalised on his trainers. This made many people aware of Nikes poor working conditions giving them a bad reputation, causing people to boycott which decreased Nikes sales (Micheletti and Paretti 2004). The success of this campaign can be seen how Nike were forced to change their practices in order to follow Indonesian law, to raise wages and avoid child labour (Hooghe M et al. 2005)

Another advantage is that globalization has given NGO’s new power which allow their campaigns to reach more people. For example, the Amnesty International’s “Human rights Principles for companies” urged companies to look at their care of employees (Amnesty International 1999). Overall the increased publicity aims to influence other consumers to get involved in political consumerism as well as to cause companies to change their practices due to the large-scale impact of negative attention decreasing their sales (Tobaisen 2004).

Another action of political consumerism is Socially Responsible Investing in which consumers invest in companies that follow ethical practices, this acts as an incentive for companies to portray a positive political image to gain investment (Micheletti and Stolle 2013, pp. 159-164). Moreover, the increase in ethical businesses opening such as Bodyshop and Patagonia clothing demonstrates that political consumerism must be having significant consequences if businesses are opening with ethics at their core (Mirvis 1994).

However, despite the changes caused by political consumerism, there are a lot of limitations to this form of political participation.

From a theoretical perspective, one of the main issues as argued by Smith (1776) is that it is directly harmful to mix politics which is seen as a public matter, with economics which is seen as a private matter. However, this is exactly what occurs when portraying public political thoughts in the private market arena and therefore Smith opposes political consumerism.

A hugely significant limitation of political consumerism is that it depends on many linked factors such as; location, education, class and income.

The location of countries even within continents plays a role in the popularity of political consumerism. According to Crépault (2013, pp. 96-99) the top 5 political consumer countries are located In Northern Europe such as Sweden and Denmark and the bottom 5 are located in Southern and Eastern Europe such as Greece. This could be due to factors such as northern European countries having consolidated democracies with higher incomes.

This introduces that the choice to portray political opinions through actions is largely limited by the income that an individual possesses which is dependent on their social class (Bourdieu 1979; Hechter1994).

As argued by Koos (2012, pp. 42) the ‘Low Cost Hypothesis’ shows how value-orientated decisions are not made when the costs of ethical products are too high and therefore political consumerism is unreliable as individuals will stop participating when they can no longer afford the ethical goods (Follesdal 2004).

As well as this, those in higher classes who can afford education will learn the complexities underlying the issues of production of goods and therefore are more likely to engage in political consumerism (Goul Andersen and Tobiasen 2004; Ferrer and Fraile 2006).

In summary, political consumerism is only available to higher classes who have the education to understand political consumerism and the disposable income to afford the more expensive ethical goods.

Moreover, another limitation is argued by Simon (2011) that political consumerism has caused the decline of other traditional forms of political participation such as voting and union membership- referred to by Rössel and Schenk (2017) as the “Crowding Out Thesis’. This is significant because other political actions such as voting for a party whose policies portray your personal political concerns, means that changes are more likely to be carried out at a national level rather than the personal level political consumerism often acts upon.

However, other academics such as Rössel and Schenk (2017) do not believe that it affects other political actions which shows the conflicting opinions involved with political participation.

Furthermore, political consumerism can cause damage to those it aims to protect. For example, the Boycotts which forced Nike to follow Indonesian laws meant that child laborers along with adults were left unemployed and some were forced towards prostitution. The severe effects of this can be seen how the Swedish Save The Children NGO even advertise against boycotting (Follesdal et al. 2004, pp. 4-14).

Moreover, a limitation of political consumerism is that it contradicts with the basic capitalist principle of making profit as ethical practices are more expensive such as higher workers’ wages and therefore businesses will make less profit. Hence, it cannot be sustainable in the market driven economy as business will become bankrupt which is a major disincentive to use ethical practices pushed by political consumers (Friedman 1963). Therefore, corporations tend to only change production processes if instructed to by law which shows that political consumerism isn’t always successful unless it causes laws to be changed (Kordos and Vojtovic 2016).

In conclusion, critically evaluating political consumerism as a social movement has shown that despite its limitations, it is globally increasing in force.

This can be seen how 55% of Swedes (MEDC) stated in a survey that they had deliberately bought a product for political, ethical or environmental reasons in the last 12 months (European Social Survey 2002). Moreover, in a study taken with university students in Brazil (LEDC) 40.6% said that they occasionally buy organic products to voice their political opinions (De Barcellos et al. 2014, pp. 210-212). The global representation of this movement is significant because the greater the public awareness and actions such as boycotts and labelling schemes, then greater the chance to cause changes such as implement laws to force ethical practices which therefore makes political consumerism a success.

Despite this, political consumerism is limited by significant factors such as; it only being available to a niche market of individuals with high disposable incomes due to the increased price of ethical goods such as organic food or non-sweatshop clothing. In addition, as argued by Simon (2011, p.162) political consumerism “doesn’t solve things; more often, it covers them up with a band aid” and therefore doesn’t provide a permanent solution.

After critically assessing political consumerism it is evident that it is a social movement with potential but would be most significant alongside other forms of political participation.

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The typical American household contains an average of 300,000 items (MacVean). This staggering, slightly terrifying statistic displays America

Consumerism is the idea that the mass purchase of goods and services is economically desirable (“Consumerism,” 2018b). It all stems from the belief that of high amounts of economic activity and strong consumer purchasing habits make for a better society (“Consumerism,” 2018b). These strong purchasing behaviors allow for large amounts of money to flow through the economy (“Consumerism,” 2018b). This probes economic growth and better standards of living (“Consumerism,” 2018b). Consumerism has been proven to be a fairly successful tactic. It creates extremely vast amounts of money, as consumer spending contributes to 70 percent of the U.S. GDP (“Consumerism,” 2018b). In fact, according to author Richard Heinburg, without consumerism, we’d go into a long, deep depression. He states that, “Commerce would contract; jobs would vanish; pension funds would lose value; tax revenues would shrivel, and so would government services.” (Heinburg). Despite its advantages, consumerism has several obvious downfalls. The trash and pollution produced by throwing away and transporting goods has been linked to climate change (“Consumerism,” 2018b). Some argue that the relentless plugging of consumer culture leads to people putting their own personal gains and goals before the greater good (“Consumerism,” 2018b). Additionally, consumerism can’t go on forever due to the massive amounts of resources it uses up (Heinburg). Such limits include few fossil fuels, environmental sink limits, and debt restrictions (Heinburg). Despite its pros and cons, consumerism has played a vital role in shaping our nation today, especially during the Roaring Twenties.

The period between the 1880s and the 1920s marked a time of great change in America (“Consumerism,” 2018a). During this era, the U.S. morphed from a producer-oriented society into a consumerist society (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Advances in communication, transportation, and technology allowed for consumerism to progress (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Steamboats and railroads made it possible for industry centers to boom (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Interchangeable parts, the telephone, and the invention of the electric light bulb made for faster production, communication, and longer workdays (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Fossil fuels such as oil offered cheap, portable energy, which in turn could be used in the manufacturing process (Heinburg). Population movement from rural to urban areas created a larger workforce to be employed in factories (“Consumerism,” 2018a). These factors all worked in harmony to foster the growth and development of consumerism in America. Once they were all set in place, consumerism took off.

During the Roaring Twenties, the American consumerist movement was in full swing. More products were available than ever before. With the assistance of credit, or paying in installments over time, luxuries reserved only for the wealthy became perceived necessities for the middle class (“A Consumer”). The term “buy now, pay later” became a common phrase in this era (“A Consumer”). Buying on credit allowed single-income families to purchase numerous goods all at once (“A Consumer”). Thousands of different inventions completely changed people’s lives. Refrigerators prolonged food life (Alchin). Radios allowed for news and music to be broadcasted all over the world (Alchin). The Ford Model T was another extremely influential product in the Twenties (“The Roaring”). They cost a mere $260 and could be bought with credit, making them exceedingly affordable (“The Roaring”). People could now travel to their destinations in the comfort and safety of their own car, rather than by horses or trains. Other products included dishwashers, vacuums, and televisions. Material objects weren’t the only arrival, as influxes of new entertainment were also introduced (“Consumerism,” 2018a).

New forms of entertainment changed America dramatically (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Cinemas with silent movie showings were extremely popular in the early Twenties (“Popular Culture”). They were easily accessible, cheap, and a great place to socialize (“Popular Culture”). Audio films, also known as talkies, were later developed in 1927 and also boasted massive success (“Popular Culture”). By 1929, 110 million Americans went to cinemas weekly (“Popular Culture”). Jazz music became extraordinarily popular as well (“Popular Culture”). Many Americans desired a newer, faster lifestyle (“Popular Culture”). Jazz music matched this urge entirely (“Popular Culture”). Jazz music’s lively, rhythmical beat created a fun-loving atmosphere, which was exactly what lots of Americans wanted at the time (“Popular Culture”). Arguably the most popular form of entertainment was the radio (“Popular Culture”). By the late 1920s, almost 40 percent of the population owned a radio set (“Popular Culture”). Radios had a wide range of functions, including serving as a form of communication, broadcasting the news, music, and information (“Popular Culture”). Additionally, it was an effective place for manufacturers to advertise their products (“Popular Culture”). These various forms of entertainment and new products were seen in almost every city and town, which lead to studies being conducted on them (“Consumerism,” 2012).

In 1924, two sociologists selected a town in “middle America” which they felt represented the typical towns of that day (“Consumerism,” 2012). Using this town of Muncie, Indiana, they conducted research using the data collected to study American culture (“Consumerism,” 2012). They observed that purchasing goods on credit became a way of life (“Consumerism,” 2012). One official at a local loan company said, “People don’t think anything nowadays of borrowing sums they’d never have thought of borrowing in the old days. They will assume an obligation for $2,000 as calmly as they would have borrowed $300 or $400 in 1890” (“Consumerism,” 2012). In Muncie, consumerism was seen as an obligation and duty (“Consumerism,” 2012). A local newspaper said, “The first duty of a citizen in to produce”; and later, “The American citizen’s first importance to his country is no longer that of citizen but that of consumer. Consumption is a new necessity” (“Consumerism,” 2012). Products and amenities found in towns such as Muncie included washing machines, automobiles, cinemas, and radios (“Consumerism,” 2012). But the manufacturers of these goods and services couldn’t survive without one component: advertising.

William Cheney once said, “Advertising, essentially, is the awakening of human desire. There is no stronger force in this new world of ours.” (“Consumerism,” 2012) Advertising was undoubtedly an essential part of consumerism in the 1920s. From 1860 to 1920, the American population increased three times, but production increased by 12 to 14 times (Beder). This created obvious issues of how to generate more demand (Beder). As production kept rising, manufacturers needed to constantly create and maintain markets (“Consumerism,” 2018a). This was done with the help of mass advertising (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Several mediums were used to advertise products and services, including as newspapers, radios, and magazines such as Good Housekeeping and Ladies’ Home Journal (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Advertisers used several effective tactics to sell their goods. They often made posters filled with vibrant colors and catchphrases (Hardcastle). They made generalizations about people and society, like “healthy children eat whole grain cereals,” or “in order to be socially acceptable, you need a clean bathroom” (“Consumerism,” 2018a). The people portrayed in advertisements were almost always middle- or upper- class (“Consumerism,” 2018c). Using strategies like these, advertisers were able to appeal to emotions and basic human need, thus creating the vast markets needed to sell their products (“Consumerism,” 2018a). Consumerism and all its pieces helped contribute to what would be one of the world’s most life-altering events: the Great Depression.

What began as a typical recession in mid 1929, the Great Depression escalated into the longest lasting, most severe economic depression the industrialized Western world has experienced (“Great Depression,” 2017). Spanning from 1929 to 1939, nearly every single country suffered effects due to the Depression, the U.S. and Europe being hit the hardest (“Great Depression,” 2017). Causes associated with the Depression include low consumer demand, financial panics, and unwise government policies (“Great Depression,” 2017). The effects of the Depression were detrimental. Nearly 25 percent of working eligible people was unemployed, but in some places, it reached a staggering 97 percent (Ecenbarger 15). People lost their entire life savings due to the mass closing of banks (Ecenbarger 15). Everyday necessities such as food, clothing, and shelter became luxuries. The Great Depression marked a dark, grave time in our world, and consumerism is considered partially to blame.

By the end of the 1929s, the majority of America had adapted the “more is more” philosophy. This desperate urge to buy, buy, buy also applied to the stock market (“Great Depression History”). People from all walks of life started to buy stocks, some even pouring their life savings into them (“Great Depression History”). Stock prices rose dramatically from 1921 to 1929 (“Great Depression”). In 1925, all stocks combined were valued at $27 billion, but by October of 1929 it reached a soaring $87 billion (Boyer). In the fall of 1929, the increase in prices reached a screeching halt (“Great Depression”). Investors began to realize that at these ever increasing prices, they were never going to get return on their investments (“Great Depression”). They lost their confidence in the stock market and “Black Thursday”, or October 24, 1929, they began rapidly selling their shares (“Great Depression”). On “Black Tuesday” five days later, even more stocks were sold (“Great Depression History”). In those two days, a record-breaking 28.6 million shares were traded and sold (“Great Depression History”). But many stocks were purchased on margin through loans, so some were even forced to sell their shares (“Great Depression”). This resulted in extremely low share prices (“Great Depression”). This was known as Stock Market Crash (“Great Depression”). The Crash had a huge impact on America, and is often said to be the main cause of Great Depression (“Great Depression History”).

The effects produced by the Stock Market Crash led to a plethora of issues. The loss of investment and consumer spending caused businesses and their factories to slow production and fire their employees (“Great Depression History”). The ones who were fortunate enough to keep their jobs experienced decreased wages (“Great Depression History”). Items necessary to survival, such as food, clothing, and shelter, became scarce. The debt acquired through buying on credit led to thousands of foreclosures and repossessions (“Great Depression History”). The rest of the world suffered the results of the Crash because of its connection to America through the gold standard, “which joined countries around the world in a fixed currency exchange” (“Great Depression History”). These effects, along with many more, changed the world as people knew it. No longer were the days of security, comfort, and certainty. The ten years following the Crash were full of fear, scarcity, and death.

The evolution of consumerism and its influence on society is a fascinating story that explores people’s traits, values, and faults. Throughout history, consumerism has proven to be the cause of economic advancement and destruction. During the 1920s, consumerism, along with many several other factors, allowed for the economy to thrive and grow. But in the following years, these behaviors created the perfect environment for the Crash (“Great Depression History”). The result was a severe depression that rocked the world. It left society to question its ethics, values, and morals. What would life be like without overflowing pantries, jam-packed storage closets, and wardrobes filled to the brim? It may have become a way of life for Americans, but at what cost? Then again, society would have to alter dramatically if it were to give up its extreme spending habits. Through the mess and turmoil of it all, one thing can be agreed upon: consumerism has the power to both boost and destroy the world.

In this discussion I am going to explore how behavioural economics can explain some of the drivers of consumerism, I will apply different theories and ideas, assessing to what extent they affect the ever-increasing levels of consumerism. Whilst doing this I will give examples and explain my reasoning for the judgment I come to on each of the areas I have chosen to cover. Furthermore, I will link these drivers to the impacts of consumerism on consumers and Earth as a whole. During the research, I focused on three different ways in which a consumer’s decision-making could be affected and thus lead them to contribute to consumerism, these are:

1. The effect of culture and social interactions on consumer behaviour.
2. The effect and cause of everyday irrational behaviour.
3. How firms take advantage of behavioural economics to increase consumption.
4. The effect and cause of everyday irrational behaviour

Irrational Behaviour

Humans are not only irrational but predictably irrational, or so Ariely 2008 says. Behavioural economics, unlike the field of classical economics where decision-making is completely based on cold-headed logic, allows for irrational behaviour and attempts to understand what causes this behaviour. Irrational behaviour is a term used for when consumers, producers and governments don’t maximise utility, profit and social welfare respectively. In this discussion, the focus will be on consumers and how their decisions on a day-to-day bias cause consumerism and the overconsumption of goods. Before going in-depth into the different causes of irrational behaviour and their subsequent effects, it is important to understand the idea that an irrational decision is subjective as it ‘depends on what individuals’ value most’ Pettinger 2007. For instance, non-profit maximising behaviour may give more satisfaction and therefore be completely rational.

Cognitive Biases

Arguably the most common cause of irrational behaviour is cognitive bias, which is a flaw in consumer reasoning which leads them to misinterpret information which causes them to come to an inaccurate conclusion. This occurs because, over time, each of a consumer’s life experiences is processed by the ‘complex cognitive machine’ Stanborough 2020 which scrutinizes information before making a decision. Over time a consumer’s brain will learn to focus on different pieces of information more and thus develop different kinds of biases. I believe this can be applied as some of the 175 catalogued cognitive biases could cause consumers to buy too much of a good or a good unnecessarily. One such example is the ‘Endowment Effect’ where once people own something they irrationally overvalue it, regarding its objective value. I believe that it could cause consumers to purchase greater quantities of goods that they are already in possession of, as they believe the value is greater than what is being asked of by a producer. The ‘Wealth Effect’ on the other hand is where consumers have higher animal spirits as their assets have a large value. They don’t necessarily have more money but they feel more inclined to spend as they have greater wealth. Both of these effects could cause a consumer to be more inclined to spend on things they don’t need. This point accentuates one of the impacts of consumerism which is how consumerism tends to cause greater amounts of dept which is mentioned in Novotney 2008 when talking about America’s consumerism. However, the evaluation to the Endowment and Wealth effect is that not all consumers do this, this argument is subjective as no one has had the same exact life experience and thus everyone has different cognitive biases. Overall, I believe that cognitive biases are a component of how behaviour economics explains why consumerism takes place.

Pressures and Decision Fatigue

Another cause of irritation in consumer behaviour worth mentioning is consumer pressure. This is the idea that consumers make very different decisions when under pressures like time, the consumer doesn’t have the time to come to the best conclusion and thus could cause them to unnecessarily buy more than they need. Similarly, decision fatigue also causes consumers to think less and possibly buy more. The term was defined by Roy F Baumeister who describes it as the ‘deteriorating quality of decisions made by an individual after continuously making decisions’ Cummings 2016. The final of the four effects of decision fatigue that is explained in Agarwal 2017 is that is causes ‘Impaired self-regulation’ which is a consumer’s ability for self-control against impulses decreases. For instance, research explained in Agarwal 2017 shows that decisions that Judges make are extremely influenced by how long in the day it has been since their last break. However, when linking this to consumerism and the increased quantity of goods consumed it is important to be aware that decision fatigue can also cause decision avoidance and thus reduce consumerism. I believe that both time and fatigue cause consumers to act irrationally by causing them to partake in more impulse purchasing thus adding to consumerism, although they are not the reason consumerism exists as these theories would have affected humans before the boom of consumerism in the 1920s.

The effect of culture and social interactions on consumer behaviour

Culture

During this section of the discussion, I will explore two influences of consumer behaviour; Culture and upbringing; Social Interactions. The first of which is Culture and upbringing. The ideas explored in Williams 2019 highlight how different cultural behaviours influence what is bought, in what quantity and who buys it. Factors such as household size and the role of women managing the household have huge impacts on what is bought on a day-to-day basis. For instance, Indian consumerism tends to be more family orientated than western ones. Whilst exploring this more I found there were too many factors that cause the differences in cultural behaviours from upbringing to economic stability, thus it is difficult to pinpoint which factors cause different behaviours. Additionally, the main issue with the argument, that culture changes decisions, is that human personalities vary between each person, this variety encompasses the extent to which each consumer takes on board the particular influences of their culture. Using the example stated before, just because Indian consumers tend to be more family orientated doesn’t mean there aren’t Indian consumers who make highly individualistic purchasing decisions or on the other-hand western ones that think collectively.

Changing Culture and Globalisation

Additionally, I believe that the rise in consumerism can be attributed to both changes in culture over time and globalisation. For instance, the role of women in the household has changed over the century significantly, I mention this as now both men and women are now more at risk from decision fatigue and time pressure as both genders work the same amount. As the world develops further and further people are faced with more decisions each day from during work to shopping after it. This could cause consumers to generally consume more as they are making more decisions collectively and therefore partaking in more impulse buying. In addition, globalisation also causes increased consumerism as it changed the culture of less developed places, making those people enter the consumer class. As highlighted in Mayell 2004 globalisation causes ‘Items that at one point in time were considered luxuries are now seen as necessities.’ This shows how globalisation causes consumers in developing countries to have new ideologies which are more similar to western ones, causing them to partake in consumerism. This in itself wouldn’t be behavioural economics, but over time these people who are adopting different ideas and goods from across the world create new biases. They also will be faced with more decisions as different goods and services will become available due to globalisation, causing greater decision fatigue.

Conspicuous Consumer

A different kind of behaviour which could cause consumerism is the ‘Conspicuous Consumer’ which Thorstein Veblen describes as the practice by consumers of using goods of high quality or in greater quantity than might be considered necessary. This in itself isn’t irrational as the purpose of buying the goods is to display status and prestige amongst the ‘Leisure Class’. However, this isn’t just done in the Leisure Class but with people from different classes. It becomes irrational and therefore falls under behavioural economics when a consumer from a poorer background is a conspicuous consumer and thus this spending may not be in their best interest. I believe this would contribute heavily to consumerism it is commonplace and is part of the culture of wealthy countries.

Social Interactions

Social interactions form the basis of everyday life, these different interactions cause consumers to act in a way they wouldn’t have without the interaction. For example, the idea of social proof is widely mentioned in the literature surrounding irrational behaviour. Cialdini 1984 has a chapter that talks about social proof detailing how consumers use the behaviour of people around them to determine how to behave. Though, this book concentrates on how to influence consumers and therefore is mostly not applicable to this section of the research. An interesting study explained by Zimmerman 2015 shows how social proof can cause increased consumption without the interference of those selling it. Pedro M Gardete’s study explored social effect, which is when a consumer’s behaviour is influenced by the behaviour of others around them. He focused on the sale of goods on aeroplanes, finding that when you see someone near you make a purchase you are 30% more likely to buy something yourself. ‘Even though they’ve already bought something to eat or watched the movie, they remain extremely open to social influence, more so than someone who has bought only from social influence in the first place,’ Gaudete says. This research can be applied to all facet’s consumption, making people go into stores or buy goods just because they see someone else doing so. Using this, I reached the conclusion that social proof explains the second cause of consumerism which is mentioned in Reichert 2017 which is Social causes.

Social Media

The final factor which is imperative to this section is social media, I personally believe a large amount of the points previously mentioned are exaggerated by it. The digital revolution in the 2000s meant that people were able to share their beliefs and what they do to a greater number of other people. The Digital Age 2018 explains how an individual’s decisions can be impacted by another person through either a message or a post about a product or firm online. Social media allows social proof to happen online, it is so influential as before the digital revolution a consumer would have to see the consumption or purchase of a good in the moment it happened to be influenced. But with social media, the social proof is preserved in time and thus affects a greater amount of people. Likewise, another important way in which social media can cause consumerism is when consumers using social media get a glimpse into other consumers’ consumption-filled lifestyles, causing them to believe that this is the social norm and therefore partake in excessive consumption themselves, even if they are not in the situation where it is rational. Arguably social media has become part of the culture in a great number of developed countries, which could explain the rise in consumerism as more people are now affected by the social effect. The only issue with this argument is that not all consumers have social media or are affected by it, however, the number of people that are affected is ever-increasing. Taking all this into account, I have come to the conclusion that culture and social interactions are two of the main drivers for the world’s rising levels of consumerism.

How do Firms use behavioural economics to their advantage?

Applying Social Proof

The final area under consideration is how firms use these different causes of irrational behaviour to increase the consumption of their goods, contributing to consumerism. Cialdini 1984 believed that there are various psychological tactics which are used by different types of compliance practitioners, one of which is the previously mentioned social proof. An example of a firm using social proof to encourage the purchase of goods is when auction houses plan for people in the crowd of auctions to bid on items to encourage others to also do so, although this itself isn’t consumerism it gives a good example of how consumers are manipulated by firms. However, even though Cialdini 1984 gives a lot of different examples of social proof being used by sales practitioners, a lot of them are very niche scenarios and not many of them link to the idea of consumerism and that more is better. This could be because the book was released in 1984 and doesn’t encompass new methods of increasing consumption which are now utilised by firms now. One example of how modern firms use social proof mentioned in Digital Age 2018 is paying influencers to promote their goods. When these influential people promote these goods, their followers think that as this influencer is promoting it, they should purchase it. Thus, exploiting consumers by using the social proof of the people they look up to, would have an increased affect as the ‘social effect’ study in Zimmerman 2015 is done with strangers, not people they have connections with.

Nudge and Sludge

The next point is based off Thaler 2008, Thaler describes a nudge as a small action you can use to better your day-to-day life, inversely a ‘Sludge’ is used to increase consumer spending. Edwin 2018 describes a ‘Sludge’ as where firms use ‘Nudging’ to unnecessarily increase consumer spending, a prime example of this is when either junk food or more unnecessary goods are placed near checkouts to drive impulse buying and increase consumption. Furthermore, limited-time offers could be used to create urgency as consumers do not want to miss out of the offer, causing them buy it. This is further demonstrated by Sit 2020 who uses the example of sales shopping and how even if the sale doesn’t change the actual price of the good, consumers believe they are getting a bargain due to the ‘sale’ making them more likely to buy it. Going back to the changing culture in recent years, the ever-increasing number of online sales annually means more goods are being bought and shipped but also returned, in the US returns produce around 2.27 million tonnes of landfill waste a year. Furthermore, as the average room size is shrinking but the amount of goods we consume is increasing, consequently the amount we throw away therefore also increases. This has a huge impact on the environment as landfill sites are increasing in size at a greater rate every year. In conclusion nudge and different types of sales, such as BOGOFs (buy one get one free), can cause an increase in the amount consumers buy greatly, contributing to consumerism.

Advertising

Another way that firms can further increase consumption is through advertising, Higgs 2021 explained how both radio and TV adverts where both extremely influential in causing consumerism. ‘Goods that were portrayed to be fashionable which cause more people to want them, even if they didn’t need it’ Higgs 2021. This point links to the idea that globalisation turns wants to needs as advertising does just that. In order to sell their mass-produced goods, firms use advertising to lure buyers into seeing the necessity of the product, ‘The game is to make them (goods) the necessities of all the classes’ said Vance Packard in Higgs 2021. Furthermore, the greater issue with advertising is that it positively projects products, causing information failure as the consumer overvalues the product as they only know about the positives, making them more likely to buy it. Finally, the link with behaviour economics, advertising uses psychology to influence consumers’ behaviour, the constant bombardment of advertising affects consumers in ways we are not yet aware of. ‘Advertisers insinuate themselves by exploiting basic human desires like friendship, happiness and success.’- Greenpeace, fashion at the Crossroads. Overall, I believe that advertising is the greatest cause of consumerism among the researched material. It brings together all of the previously mentioned ideas and theories, acting like a catalyst for the worlds ever-increasing levels of consumers, and with that, the ever-growing detrimental impacts to the environment and our idea of society as we know it.

Do you think God would approve of consumerism as an attempt to create happiness in life? Today in this modern day society, consumers have become bombarded and overwhelmed by the media and advertisers who try to push consumers into buying their products. There are so many endless options. Many consumers may think that they need to buy all the things that they would ever want, in order to feel happy, which is not the case. In the essays “The Treadmill of Consumption” by James Roberts and “Everything Now” by Steve McKevitt, they approach the concepts of materialism and our need to consume. “Fight Club” by David Fincher also dives into the problem of consumerism. Material things can only cause emptiness in our lives. It cannot define who we are or create happiness.

According to Roberts’ argument in “Treadmill of Consumption”, having all the material things we could ever want in the world will not make us happy. In the “Treadmill of Consumption”, he describes consumerism as a treadmill that never stops. He defines it as “the process of moving ahead without any real gain in satisfaction.” (119) People today may think that buying things brings them a sense of happiness, which will only be a short lasting, and temporary feeling. People will never be satisfied with the material possessions they already have, because there is always something new and better that comes out. One real life example would be how everyone flocks to the Apple store once a new iPhone comes out. Even if it is not as different from the prior model, people will be so willing to buy it just so they can say that they have the latest and newest phone. According to Roberts, this only “speeds up the treadmill” even more (119). In this consumerist society, people will always chase after the newest products. Once something newer and better comes out, they are going to push their other material possessions aside, because those things no longer bring them happiness. They will think that these new things will make them happy. Roberts states how “acquiring more possessions doesn’t take us any closer to happiness”. (119) Instead, people will be left to be dissatisfied with what they actually have. Roberts also talks about people who buy things for “status consumption”. He defines this as, “the motivational process by which individuals strive to improve their social standing.” (120) People who constantly buy more expensive things will never be happy either. They will keep wanting to buy more and more things as an effort to impress people. People who like to show off what they have will buy the most expensive products and certain popular brands, whether it is clothes, handbags, or phones to show off the fact that they have money. In reality, those expensive material items and money, will not matter, because they will always be temporary. People in this day and age may have this idea that they have to have all the material things that other people have. In reality, we should not focus on the things that others around us might have, but we should focus on ourselves and put our happiness towards something that is not as temporary as material possessions or money. Money and material items that people have will never be permanent things in their lives, because they will always come and go, sometimes very easily and quickly.

Steve McKevitt argues that, “those of us lucky enough to be living in the developed world today are, on average, healthier, wealthier, longer lived and better educated than at any other point in history”, but, we are not happier (124). Unfortunately, there are still people in this world who struggle to receive their basic needs everyday. But for many people in first world countries such as the United States, they do not have to worry about getting their needs, because for those who are financially stable, their needs are most likely met, and are not worried about as much. Because of this, many people turn to their wants as an attempt to find some kind of happiness. McKevitt describes our wants as “emotional, ephemeral, and ever changing.” (125) And that, “just because you want something today doesn’t mean you will want it tomorrow, always want it, or ever want it again.” (125) This shows how material things only make us happy at a certain moment in time, and how it will not last very long at all. Something that we think may make us happy at this point in time, will likely not be able to bring us happiness in the future. Buying material things will not fulfill us, because they are merely temporary things which try to get people to feel something, only for a brief, short period of time.

The material possessions which people buy over time only give them temporary happiness, which will never last. These material things people tend to wrap themselves up in do not define who they are. This concept of consumerism is present in Fight Club. The narrator of Fight Club, who is not named, is quite obsessed with buying material things. The narrator is obsessed with his condo, and loves buying furniture for it. He is so obsessed with buying furniture, that he works at a job which he does not like, just so that he can make sure he is financially stable enough to still be able to buy his furniture and stuff for his home. The narrator thought that buying everything he wanted would make him happy. He thought that with his money, he would have more power, with the ability to buy more and more things to make his condo look perfect. He lets his material possessions control, or even take over his life as this is apparent in the novel, when Palahniuk writes, “Then you’re trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you own, now they own you”. (44) It is not a bad thing to find happiness in something. but material things are just mere objects that will sooner or later fade away, because they are only temporary things. The fact that people like buying things is perfectly fine, but we should not become so obsessed with buying material things that our lives start to revolve around them. Instead, people should be focusing more on who they are, and what truly makes them happy. When it gets to a certain extent, it becomes too extreme and overwhelming. This extreme consumerism becomes too much, and is distracting people from things that actually bring them happiness in life, which are not as temporary or obsolete as material things are. If people let their lives revolve around material possessions, they will never be satisfied with themselves. They will only be disappointed with what they have, when they should instead be appreciating the things that they do have already. After all, many people do not have the luxury to buy whatever it is that they want. Those who have the ability to buy material things and are able to treat themselves once in a while, should be thankful that they have the things that they have. Chances are, the people who think that they do not have a lot, and that they need to have more material possessions, have a lot more than other people who do not have as much money, and are struggling to live. To solve this problem of consumerism, the narrator tries to find himself through feeling pain, by fighting, and facing fear and pain in an underground fight club, which is very dangerous and aggressive. Later on, the narrator realizes that the fight club is not helping either. He never ends up changing his consumerist ways. People should not have to work at a job they do not like, in order to buy temporary, objects, just because they have money to buy material things.

To conclude, James Roberts argues that buying more things does not make us more happy, and Steve McKevitt argues that our wants, as well as material possessions are only temporary, and will not fulfill people or make them happy. I agree with both authors, as we cannot rely on inanimate, material objects in order to feel an emotion or to fill a void. In Fight Club, the narrator participates in an underground fight club to deal with his consumerist nature, which is very extreme. One solution people can turn to instead of material things, is to turn to their spiritual side. It is possible that this extreme consumerism can be a result of a loss of spirituality in today’s modern culture. Spirituality may just be what many people today need in order to escape from the overwhelming power and influence that consumerism has in our modern, technological culture of society today. Instead of having our lives revolve around material objects, we should try to live our lives focusing on something bigger and higher than us. Doing this, people will find that there is a deeper meaning to life than buying material things, and that happiness comes from within our hearts. Religion is a great outlet for people to figure out who they are, and to find purpose in their lives. Religions, such as Christianity for example, teach people about God, who is not temporary like these obsolete, material things, but He is everlasting. Material possessions will never provide us with a lifetime of happiness, like God can. Material objects will only create happiness for a short period of time before they will eventually fade away after time. Material things cannot create true happiness like God can. God can create happiness for people, which will last forever, and will never fade away or disappear. People should try to improve and better their lives, instead of looking to material goods. God says not to rely on material possessions, but to only rely on Him. Material things, which are only temporary things, could never bring people happiness like God’s love can.

Work Cited

1. Palahniuk, Chuck. Fight Club. W.W. Norton and Company. New York. 2018. Print.
2. Roberts, James. “The Treadmill of Consumption” Signs of Life in The USA. Bedford/ St. Martin’s, Ninth Edition. 2017. Print.
3. McKevitt, Steve. “Everything Now”. Signs of Life in the USA. Bedford/ St. Martin’s, Ninth Edition. 2017. Print.

Consumerism is a term we shy away from. When someone mentions consumerism, we start the infamous blame game. It now, however, has become an alarming issue that must be dealt with.

Robert Crocker’s book, ‘Somebody Else’s Problem’, confronts the key issues that fuel consumerism in modern society. Crocker’s ‘Somebody Else’s Problem’ will be directly compared to key ideas on consumerism from a variety of other commentators, including the following comparisons…which will include issues related to sustainability, waste-making, consumption, and deception.

Consumerism weaved its way into Britain at the begging of the eighteenth century at the time of the industrial revolution. The industrial revolution resulted in an inflation of products available due to the increasing use of machinery and equipment (Abu Baker, 2016). As time went on the purchasing of products became commonplace in the everyday lives of people in Britain. However, the consumerist culture now consists of buying clothes, cars, and technology. It has become increasingly evident that consumers are obtaining products to keep on top of the current trends and are always seeking new and better alternatives (Abu Baker, 2016). So what is consumerism? Consumerism is the idea that in order to continue increasing the consumption of goods one must infiltrate people’s emotions and well-being to subconsciously engage them into buying goods or services, to make themselves feel adequate (Chappelow, 2019). Consumerism further relates to a life of materialism, waste-making and overconsumption (Chappelow, 2019).

Robert Crocker teaches at the University of South Australia. He lectures history, the theory of design and sustainability within design at The School of Art, Architecture, and Design. Crocker began his career as an early modern scientist and philosophy historian, and his interest in sustainability, consumerism and consumption evolved during his time helping out at local pedestrian and advocacy groups (Crocker, 2016). Robert Crocker’s enthusiasm for sustainability and consumerism led him to publish ‘Somebody Else’s Problem.’ Robert Crocker’s core argument in his publication is that consumerism remains the leading cause of today’s environmental issues. It emphasizes the point that solely relying on technology is not a satisfactory solution to environmental issues, particularly climate change and that it is no longer feasible to leave the burden of solving these global issues with scientists and economists. ‘Somebody Else’s Problem’ addresses consumption, waste, pollution, accelerators within consumerism as well as ways designers can take action to evoke necessary change (Somebody Else’s Problem: Consumerism, Sustainability, and Design, 2016). Crocker further addresses the severity of consumerism, claiming it to be the underlying source of the high carbon system. Key arguments displayed within ‘Somebody Else Problem’ include individualization and substitution, waste-making, deception and how we as consumers value products (Somebody Else’s Problem: Consumerism, Sustainability, and design, 2016).

Firstly, Crocker effectively establishes the key idea that deception feeds consumerism and consumption. He argues that the current consumption rates are unendurable even though the product or service may be technologically competent. Crocker furthers this idea by explaining that, despite the ongoing technological and economical advances in products and services, the continuous incline of consumption ultimately defeats the efficiency rates. To illustrate this idea Crocker provides us with the example of the new Tata car in India. The car itself has a very small motor thus making it a vehicle with remarkably low emissions. The Tata car was advertised at two thousand five hundred American dollars, however, due to its low, affordable cost the sales skyrocketed, and millions were purchased. This ultimately contradicted the initial purpose of the efficient car. This example can be applied to many companies, especially in the sales of environmentally friendly cars, appliances and devices. In addition to this idea, Crocker discusses that deception is also fuelled by consumers, in particular their devotion to products that guarantee fulfillment, which is promised through the media. An example that portrays this is wrinkle-reducing face creams. As soon as the product is purchased its value to the consumer increases, because of the belief that what is now theirs is wonderful and terrific. These pledges to products and brands consequently give consumerism unnecessary power and moral stance. As a result of this, we find ourselves ‘buying and using products, becoming committed to the product which we have sacrificed our money for and the time and effort this represents to us’ (Crocker, 2016, p. 6)

Crocker further explains that deception is more than just being enticed through fictitious advertising, it is a commitment to continue to hide away, remaining in complete blindness. Crocker explains that we are deaf to the disastrous effects of our everyday choices. (Crocker, 2016). To conclude Crocker’s idea on deception feeding consumerism, he explains ways in which this can be reduced. He informs us of his strong ideology that science and technology will not free us from the vicious cycle of consumption and consumerism. Crocker espouses that values need to be altered, values need to construct differently, particularly within social media and advertisement, designers and scientists should start collaborating to produce environmentally friendly and efficient products but most importantly we should work together, eventually finding the right solution (Somebody Else’s Problem: Consumerism, Sustainability and Design, Green Leaf Publishings).

Similarly, the distinct ideas portrayed in Consumption, Consumer Culture and Consumer Society by Arıkan Saltık, Işıl, Fırat, Aytekin & Kutucuoğlu, Kemal & Tuncel, Ozgür (2013) are consistent with that of Crocker. The article makes some direct links with Crocker’s ideas of deception feeding consumerism and consumption. (Arıkan Saltık, Işıl, Fırat, Aytekin & Kutucuoğlu, Kemal & Tuncel, Ozgür, 2013) The ideology of the authors is that within the consumerist culture there is the deliberate use of advertising and social media deception to control and manipulate others, encouraging them to buy compulsively, and they must abide to the idea of consuming in the instance rather than postponing. Moreover, the article displays other ideas linking to that of Crocker’s on deception and consumerism is that the consumer society revolves around consumption, the exhibition of products in pursuit of social gratification and status (Baudrillard, 1998). To conclude on the ideas of deception within the aforementioned research paper, the final idea which corresponds to that of Crocker’s is that within the consumer society products are used swiftly then discarded ignorantly. This unthoughtful disposal of products has lead to the exploitation of values, alluding to negative consequences. (Penpece, 2006).

It is apparent that the ideas espoused by Arıkan Saltık, Işıl et al., Baudrillard and Penpece consolidate the views of Robert Crocker, as their views are very similar to that of Crocker’s concept of deception fuelling consumerism. The respective ideas that are directly linked to the ideas of Crocker’s are that advertisements and social media are used to wrongly influence people resulting in compulsively buying as well as encouraging unnecessary purchases in order to satisfy their needs and gain social gratification. In addition, it can be seen that there is an agreement on the idea that consumers buy fast, become committed, and dispose of the product carelessly consequently resulting in negative effects to the environment.

Secondly, Crocker provides the idea that consumerism can be identified as waste-making. Waste-making that is produced through the old being reinstated by the new and trendy. Crocker explains that this encourages people to discard perfectly good products that may merely be few years old or provoke people to use one-off items. This is driven by our willingness to discredit the products which we hold in our hands. Crocker provides the example that there is substantial consumption and waste-making within the coffee shop industry, which involves quick disposable, plastic-coated paper cups despite them being non-recyclable, generating unsustainable emissions in the manufacture and production process. Also, Crocker reinforces his idea by stating that over eight million of cups are sold at Starbucks every day. Crocker further reinstates his idea that consumerism comprises waste-making in the form of stylistic and technological obsolescence as well as the physiological depreciation of our product values, hence initiating the process of comparison. This leads to the issue of throwing products away because they are considered old, therefore creating an accelerating problem of waste. Crocker makes three points regarding waste within consumerism; First of all is that the global production rates of consumption generate waste in unmanageable quantities. These excessive volumes cannot be tackled efficiently. There is the exception of the few clean, post-industrial cities that use leading engineering and collection systems, however, in the remaining parts of the world there are uncontrollable plans put in place, in an attempt to salvage the accumulating waste. To clarify this further Crocker delivers some facts and figures; 50% of the world experiences the formal collection of waste, and 50% of our global population have access to modern sanitation, however, this means that to over three billion people waste is a contributor to pollution. Following on from the previous point Crocker explains that today’s waste contains vast volumes of environmentally damaging toxic substances. These eventually evade their briefly lived residences unable to be ceased or reused in a useful form. Crocker further adds that marine scientists are now able to photograph plankton that glow due to the microplastics found within cosmetic packaging and other products (Crocker, 2016) Seabirds are now being recovered with their organs filled with vivid coloured plastics fed to them by their innocent parents (Liboiron, 2015/6). Crocker’s final point within this idea is that consumers themselves rely on the old products being swiftly replaced to make space available for the new products, resulting in the accumulation of waste. Furthermore, Crocker asserts that the re-use and second-hand markets are unable to effectively keep up with the extensive production of products. Recycling converts around 20% of the population’s waste to resources in which the product can be used again. Overall a large percentage of consumer waste turns into pollution, destroying the environment.

Crocker’s idea of consumerism as waste-making directly compares to that of Athreya Mamidipudi, Kristi Gartner and Suzzane Jacobs in their written articles. Athreya Mamidipudi’s ideology is that due to the escalation in consumerism there is an immense gathering of waste, with no acknowledgment of our mistakes. She explains that the increasing income levels and modernization results in more unnecessary consumption resulting in greater waste generation due to more and more disposable incomes. Also, Mamidipudi discusses that since the creation of plastics in the nineteen fifties the consumer society has changed as plastics are being produced at high rates making it very cheap to use. Mamidipudi furthers her idea of consumerism as waste-making as she explains that in consumerism easy-use products have dominated the market. Mamidipudi emphasises her idea further by providing an issue in India as a consequence of consumerism; India is dealing with the worrying problem of the production of plastic is significantly higher to the recycling rate. To conclude her idea Mamidipudi suggests that eco products should be encouraged, as well as investing in the long term, reusable products and incentives (Mamidipudi, 2018). Correspondingly Kristi Gartner’s article Consumerism, Mass Extinction, and our Throw-Away Society showcase her idea that consumerism has reached its peak, with products becoming obsolete quicker than ever and new products being purchased every day leading to serious consequences regarding pollution and waste. She explains that there is the chance of mass extinction, there is the hazard that over three-quarters of the earth species could become extinct which is a result of our overconsumption and wanting more than we require. Similar to the idea of Crocker’s, Gartner explains that she feels technological products are being upgraded at a startling rate and that we are being sucked into the advertisement that goes hand in hand with products, selling us high-speed processing and exquisite graphics. We end up buying these products to improve our lives, to benefit the environment however this may be true in some cases Garter explains that the product will only be environmentally friendly if we dispose of the replaced products effectively. Gartner provides the idea that these products can only be environmentally efficient if we stop the ignorant discarding of toxic items. To conclude Gartner gives her final idea that society needs to be informed about the impact of disposing of waste carelessly and that just because we can afford something doesn’t mean we need it (Gartner, 2016).

The ideas adopted by Athreya Mamidipudi and Kristi Gartner unify with those of Robert Crocker’s as their ideas are remarkably similar to that of Crocker’s that Consumerism can be seen as waste making. The ideas directly linked to that of Crocker’s are that the expeditious obsolescence of products is directly encouraging people to throw away perfectly good products just to conform to the trends, this is amplified through our disregard for product value but also the benefits we believe it will bring to us. Furthermore, there is agreement on the idea that products are being manufactured rapidly creating waste at unmanageable quantities, making the recycling process unsustainable as can be seen with the India Scenario. It can also be seen that the idea of quick use, mass-manufactured at inexpensive prices encourages consumerism as the products are affordable are evident it that of Crockers and the articles. Finally, the ideas of consumerists not being informed on how to throw away products correctly are contributing to pollution and waste as products are being purchased however there is a apparent lack of concern when disposing of obsolete are similar.

Another idea of Crocker’s which is discussed within “Somebody else’s problem…’ is that continuous comparison and competition advocated through idealistic advertisement fuels consumerism and that companies are playing off our fears of not being the best. Crocker shares his idea base on that of Dwyers ‘Making a habit of it’ on that people are constantly looking over their shoulders, comparing themselves to friends and feeling the need to look a certain way to gain specific job, car or house (Dwyer, 2009). Crocker further explains his idea that Consumerism caused by comparison as well as self-evaluation. Comparison in most cases involves looking at those above us in order the gain ideas of the standard which we should be following. An example that Crocker provides concerning this idea is the Benson and Hedges advert, where the protagonist has the best qualities and highest standards, which represents a luxury and prestigious life. Through the potential wealthy and luxury that can be associated with the product, it gives us an insight into what our lives could be like if we owned it. Moreover, Crocker explains that reaching the top of the luxury ladder requires time and effort, this means working hard as we don’t want to look underprivileged. This often means reaching the goal where we can purchase a ‘copy’ of the affluent item. Following on from this Crocker discusses that many businesses offer a more affordable copy of their luxury products, for example, BMW offers more affordable models to engage new consumers. This enables people to be part of the luxury brand at a much affordable price. Also, Crocker furthers his idea stating that ‘comparison and consumption are necessarily escalatory’ (Crocker, 2019, p.104). He explains that it achieves a sense of insistence, which ultimately encourages us to purchase more desirable things, this latches on to use causing the fear of social decline. Brands play of this fear and worry by creating stories, making the products seem magical. Crocker provides his idea that brands live in our minds and that advertising ensures we see the ideal product. For example, car showrooms are the foundation for the brand and the story for cars, it becomes a place to impress. (Litman, 2009). p.105

Correspondingly the ideas shared by American behavioral scientist Marsha L Richins, in the article ‘Social comparison, Advertising and consumer discontent’ are akin to that of Crocker’s. Richin’s idea on consumerism and comparison is that the exposure of adverts, magazine images, and television programs are being idealised to portray a certain way of life. These images give us the impression go high luxury lives which realistically can nothing but be achieved by the few. Richin’s explains that these idealised images, especially in an advertisement, lead to self-comparison and evaluation, resulting in the purchasing of products with the hope of improving their standards of living. This according to Richin’s is a significant contributor to the rise in consumerism. Furthermore, Richen’s explains social comparison is between people is being fulled through glorified adverts, this is again causing people to continuously buy products to outdo others consequently increasing consumerism and waste. Richin’s continues her idea by discussing how the use of advertisements has been carefully produced to increase the consumer’s eagerness to purchase the product, this is also influenced the continued comparison to others and the fear that they might not be the best. However, Richin’s provides a counter idea that despite idealised advertising encouraging competitiveness and consumerism it is effective in the selling of products so, therefore, it wouldn’t be conceivable to discard the advertising technique. Richin’s believes in the idea that consumers should be informed on how to interpret the precise meaning of advertisements (Richins,1995)

It can clearly be seen that ideas of Crockers and Richins share some similarities, however Richins shares some valid ideas contradictory to that of Crockers with regards to comparison and competition fuelling consumerism. Both share the same idea that the continuous comparison between people to achieve better standards is increasing consumerism, this is because people are comparing what they have to what other have as well as comparing themselves to idealised adverts which convey unrealistic expectations. In addition, both parties agree that advertisers use the fear of social decline to evoke self-evaluation, resulting in the purchasing of products ultimately increasing the vicious cycle of consumerism. However Richins makes a valid idea which somewhat conducts that of Crockers which is the idealised advertisement is necessary in the advertisement of products and that people should be educated on to interpret the true meaning of advertisements, this is something Crocker failed to mention which would be beneficial in the aid to decrease self-evaluation and social comparison.

Abstract:

The Internet has become the primary source of information for a large number of marketers and consumers. In developing countries like India, the rapid growth in social media provides both marketers and consumers a platform for communication and sharing information. This research paper aims to study the impact of social media in consumers’ decision-making process for purchasing of electronic goods. The study is conducted in Kothrud Pune, the respondents were consumers from the age group of 18-60 years. While purchasing electronic goods most of consumers consider different factors like Price, warranty for the product, quality, brand, delivery services, security, etc. This paper concludes with social media marketing having an impact to overcome these risk factors involved and being helpful for product analysis.

Keywords– Social media marketing, electronic devices, consumer behavior, Buying behavior, E-Commerce, E-WOM, etc.

I. Introduction

Businesses are increasingly using the Internet for commercial activities. The presence of the Internet and its access has made it an extremely effective mode of communication between businesses and customers.

The mid-’90s that is 1995 – 2002 was a critical event that allowed the internet to become a viable marketing tool. In 2003 – 2004, the arrival of social media sites like Facebook, and LinkedIn led to a shift of internet users into social networking sites. Eventually, businesses picked up on the positive effects of a social media site presence on e-commerce and started creating their own profiles on popular networking sites. Nowadays, over 90% of marketing executives are utilizing social media as a key marketing strategy. Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube channels, and others are useful in notifying the latest commodities and brands. All product details, specifications, and reviews will be analyzed by using different tools like Content Writing, E-WOM, Google search, blogs, and reviews on E-Commerce sites. etc.

Major Electronic products used in daily routine life consist of mobile phones, Laptops, Computers, refrigerators, Washing machines, Kitchen appliances, Air conditioners, Entertainment systems, and other accessories, etc.

Electronic equipment account major share of an individual’s shopping. While purchasing electronic goods most of consumers consider different factors like Price, warranty for the product, quality, brand, delivery services, and security etc. The price is a major factor as electronic products are costly in nature so people hesitate to take purchasing decisions. Now, Social media help them to take purchasing decisions. Shopping of electronic goods with the help of social media marketing tools results in great convenience to the life of the people as it helps in price comparison, product selection, quality comparison and gives service security. Indian consumers have started to buy smartphones, televisions, refrigerators and large-capacity washing machines online, leading to an increase in average billing sizes for these categories in the major e-commerce marketplaces like Flipkart and Amazon. The industry players and analysts said that the average billing size for televisions sold online has gone up 50%, while for appliances and smartphones it has increased by up to 20% in the last year. Industry executives said that now consumers show a willingness to purchase costly products online even last year. Smartphones, televisions, and appliances together account for over 60-65% of total e-commerce sales in India and online accounts for 35% of total smartphone sales, while for television it is 15% and 6-8% for appliances.

For this reason, this study will be carried out in order to determine the main impact of social media marketing on consumer attitudes and intentions toward purchasing of electronic devices.

The sub-goals for the research are:

• To determine the main impact of social media marketing on purchasing decisions of electronic devices
• To study consumers’ attitudes and intentions toward the shopping of electronic devices online.

II. Literature Review

In today’s scenario, Social media marketing is an interesting topic among researchers and academicians. Most of businesses are using these social media marketing strategies for communication with consumers. Consumer purchase decisions are highly affected by Reviews on social media, content writing, and in different ways. Nowadays, customers are showing a willingness to buy products having high prices with the help of social media.

Funde, and Thakur (2014), in their paper titled “Effect of Social Media on Purchase Decision”, the paper examine the usage pattern and its influences the five stages of the purchase process. The paper concludes that social media reviews and opinions affect the purchase decision process; however, the tendency of sharing experiences post-purchase is surprisingly low.

Cristina, and Castronovo (2012), in their paper titled “Social Media In An Alternative Marketing Communication Model” to develop an integrated alternative marketing communication conceptual model that can be applied by industrial practitioners to help them achieve their marketing objectives. The paper concludes that WOM marketing, alternative marketing communications, and social media as viable components of integrated marketing communications.

Assistant Prof. Ali YAYLI and Murat BAYRAM (2013), in their paper titled “Ewom: The Effects Of Online Consumer Reviews On Purchasing Decision Of Electronic Goods”, the paper examine the impact of, one type of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), the online consumer review, on purchasing decision of electronic products. The results show that consumer reviews have a causal impact on consumer purchasing behavior and they have an effect on choosing the products by the consumer. Finally, the results and their implications are discussed.

Anastasiya Oshchepkova (2017), in a project titled “E-Commerce in Nicaragua: Consumer Behavior towards Online Shopping of Electronic Devices”, study consumer behavior online and create a well-developed E-commerce site for the sale of electronic devices which will make it easier for the Nicaraguan consumer to search and purchase all sorts of electronic devices without the need to do it from an abroad retailer.

III. Research Gap

The researcher has done an extensive review of the literature, and the available literature hardly comments on how social media has an impact on consumer buying behavior of electronic devices. Hence it provides a research gap. That proves the novelty of the topic. Therefore the research paper is aptly titled as “Impact of Social Media Marketing on Consumers’ Purchasing Decision of electronic devices”.

IV. Objectives

This study will be carried out in order to determine the main impact of social media marketing on consumer attitudes and intentions when purchasing electronic devices.

The sub-goals for the research are:

• To determine the main impact of social media marketing on purchasing decisions of electronic devices
• To study consumer attitudes and intentions toward the shopping of electronic devices online.

IV. Research questions

To meet the main goal and sub-goals, the following research questions were set:

• RQ 1: What is the impact of social media marketing on purchasing decisions of electronic devices?
• RQ 2: What are the main barriers consumers have when shopping for electronic devices online?

V. Research Methodology

5.1 Method of Research:

This research is of Descriptive and Exploratory in nature.

5.2 Primary Data:

This describes the impact of social media marketing and the main factors driving the consumer toward shopping for electronic devices online. The strategy will be used in order to accomplish that: quantitative analysis in order to broaden understanding knowledge on the subject at hand. As quantitative research is a self-administered online survey. The self-administered survey is a type of questionnaire, either in paper or electronic form, that a respondent completes on his/her own point of view, and it enables researchers to reach a large number of potential respondents.

The online survey is distributed to the members using Google forms and respectively is used in order to reach people from different age categories. The study is conducted in Pune the respondents were consuming from the age group of 18-60 years.

5.2.1 Quantitative Strategy –

The online survey is distributed to the members using Google forms and respectively is used in order to reach people from different age categories. Members from a different regions in Pune India participated in the online survey. The figure below shows that the average age of respondents is between …….

5.2.2 Questionnaire –

The first part of the questionnaire was related to the general information of respondents. The other part drew upon shopping for electronic devices online, the impact of social media marketing, and the factors that influence their shopping behavior. Followed by the question about the use of social media marketing tools for both online as well as offline purchasing, to avoid risk factors involved and is the social media marketing help for purchasing decision of electronic goods.

The survey questionnaires are as follows –

1. Name :
2. Your Age :
   1. 18 – 30 years
   2. 31-45 years
   3. 46-60 years
   4. Above 60 years
3. What do you prefer for buying Electronic products/devices? *
   1. Online Shopping
   2. Visit the store for purchasing.
   3. Depends on the type of product. (Headphones, Mobile, refrigerator, etc )
   4. Other
4. Do you prefer to social media, e-commerce websites or other sites before purchasing electronic products? *
   1. Yes
   2. No
5. Which social media platform do you find useful in getting information about the latest electronic commodities and brands? *
   1. Instagram
   2. Facebook
   3. Twitter
   4. YouTube channel
   5. Other
6. How frequently do you shop for electronic product devices online? *
   1. Very Often
   2. Once a month
   3. 2-3 times a year
   4. Rarely
7. what type of electronic device you usually buy online? *
   1. Mobile Phones and wearable devices
   2. Laptops/ computers and their accessories
   3. Refrigerator / Washing machine
   4. Kitchen Appliances
   5. Air conditioners/coolers
   6. Home Entertainment Systems ( speakers, home theaters, television sets )
   7. Camera and its accessories
8. From the following, what do you refer for analyzing the product details? *
   1. Content is written on websites / Google search
   2. Reviews regarding the product
   3. Actually communicate with people who had purchased the product
   4. Description and specifications on e-commerce sites
9. What factors from the following affect your decision of purchasing an electronic device online? *
   1. Best prices offer
   2. effortless and time-saving
   3. non-availability of products in stores
   4. product reviews
   5. Well description and specifications of certain product
   6. Different substitutes of products shown on social media e-commerce site
10. What factors restrain/ restrict you to buy electronic goods online? *
    1. Unsecure payment method
    2. Trust Factors ( Quality, Quantity, brand, etc)
    3. Warranty and claims offered
    4. Safe delivery factors
    5. Refund Policies
    6. Other
11. Does Social media marketing help you to overcome the risk factors of purchasing an electronic device? *
    1. Yes
    2. No
12. Has Social Media marketing increased your frequency of shopping for electronic devices? *
    1. Yes
    2. No
    3. Other
13. What according to you is a satisfactory level of purchasing electronic devices online? *
    1. Not satisfied at all
    2. less satisfied
    3. satisfied
    4. more satisfied

IV. Analytical part

Graph 1: Age of the respondents –

Graph 1 shows that most of the respondents are young people who shop online. of their respondents are in the range of … and… of respondents are in the….group. These young people are capable of making decisions and consistent in their thinking and acting; people who assign particular importance to the quality of the products they wish to acquire and not afraid of using the Internet for shopping online, in comparison to the older generation

Graph 2: Gender of the respondents –

By analyzing buying intention with different demographics the only clear factors that affect buying intention is gender and age. Other factors like education and income were also analyzed however were not meaningful enough, thus education and income do not decide the intention of buying something online in a high extent.

Graph 3: Preferred Social media marketing tools –

Graph 3 shows the dominance of with of the respondents have chosen it. Followed with as the second preferred tool for shopping online.

Graph 4: Frequency of shopping online and actual buying behavior for electronic devices –

Graph 4 shows the relationship between the frequency of shopping online and the actual buying behavior of electronic product shopping online. When comparing respondents who have previously already purchased electronic devices online with those who have not, it can be seen that respondents with no experience have lower frequency of shopping online, except for the 4-6times a year group than those who have already purchased electronic devices online. A similar percentage for each range of frequency can be seen, except for 2-3 times a year with, meaning, that more frequent shopping online would result in more likely to have actual buying behavior on electronic devices online.

Graph 5 Crucial factors in the final selection of purchasing a product online –

Respondents were also asked to select a crucial factor for them that can influence the final decision of purchasing a product online. The majority of the respondents believe that what really makes them make the final decision

Graph 6: Impact of Social media to overcome risk factors –

Respondents were also asked whether social media marketing tools help them to overcome a crucial factor for them that can influence the final decision of purchasing a product online or offline.

V. Conclusion (11 Bold)

A conclusion section must be included and should indicate clearly the advantages, limitations, and possible applications of the paper. Although a conclusion may review the main points of the paper, do not replicate the abstract as the conclusion. A conclusion might elaborate on the importance of the work or suggest applications and extensions. (10)

References

Journal Papers:

1. Funded Yogesh, Mehta Yesha, Effect of Social Media on Purchase Decision, Pacific Business Review International, Volume 6, Issue 11, May 2014.
2. Cristina Castronovo, Lei Huang, Social Media in an Alternative Marketing Communication Model, Journal of Marketing Development and Competitiveness vol. 6(1) 2012.
3. Ass. Prof. Ali YAYLI, Ins. Murat BAYRAM, eWOM: THE EFFECTS OF ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEWS ON PURCHASING DECISION OF ELECTRONIC GOODS.

Internet Sites:

1. The Evolution of Social Media Marketing, https://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/evolution-social-media-marketing-043109995.html

Introduction

Understanding consumer behavior is important for any organization before launching a product. If the organization failed to analyse how a customer will respond to a particular product, the company will face losses. Consumer behavior is very complex because each consumer has different mind and attitude towards purchase, consumption and disposal of product (Solomon, 2009). Understanding the theories and concepts of consumer behavior helps to market the product or services successfully. Over the years, customer behavior; now people are buying a healthier range of goods, as knowledge about products that were not known many years ago now is well known. Factors like this shift our understanding and trust of goods as we are now more expert as well as law-makers who print the recipes and contents of the ingredients in the food product back to enable customers to be better informed. The standard customer is now watching what heshe eats; he or she is more conscious of and is exposed to trends in consumer behavior. The hypotheses and principles of Customer behavior allow advertisers to maximise their profits and to build effective marketing campaigns. Moreover, both hypotheses provides marketers with knowledge on the consumer’s behavior to spend money, possibly factors that incline them to spend more money on a product, and these two information help to prepare tactics that can be practiced by the marketers for effective promotion of a product (Goessl, 2011).

Post Modernism and Consumer

It is a reality that postmodernism is difficult to evaluate because it tends to be a phenomenon in a number of subjects and fields such as literature, music, art, communications, design, television, fashion, technology and sociology. It’s difficult to create it historically and contextually, or it’s not clear when postmodernism starts. Postmodernism is so complex an idea or collection of ideas that even the postmodernists themselves are deeply contentious. From the mid-80s on, the word has been regarded as a scholarly field.

The postmodernism cannot be described. However, it can be defined as a collection of objectively, strategically and rhetorically-orientated activities that use concepts such as distinction, repetition, traceability, simulacra and hyper-reality to destabilize other concepts like existence, identification, past, epistemic security and sense uniqueness. Since World War II, the postmodernist revolution started, in which culture in the perspective of civilization and art became high and low doubtful. A new collection of values for literature were established by the post-modernist literary movement, such as meta-fiction, fable like representation, pastiche, irony and satire, among others. In his essay ‘Postmodernism and Consumer Society,’ Fredric Jameson talks about the movement and its philosophy.

Postmodernism has been a prominent social theory for nearly 3 decades (Christensen et al, 2005) but postmodernism was not specifically recognised as an important social condition descriptor than it has been since the ’90s (Lo ‘pez-Bonilla and Lo’ pez-Bonilla, 2009). Postmodernism must recognise aspects in which people in contemporary cultures think and behave as consumers (Hirschman and Holbrook 1992; Holt 1997; Thompson 2002). Indeed, because of the interdisciplinary nature of many scholars, by postmodernism allows crossing of theoretical boundaries and offers a less constrained and richer view of customers (Miles 1999).

Five conditions of post-modernism were described in Firat and Vankatech (1993): hyperrealism, fragmentation, development and market reversal, the decent subject, and paradoxical opposites. Van Raaij (1993) applies to these circumstances, pluralism and recognition of disparities as a dominant solution to all relationships. In 1997, Firat and Shultz suggested other post-modern criteria such as transparency and diversity, presenters, recognition of confusion and confusion and value of form and design. The most common conditions were employed and accepted on behalf of the authors and researchers in the postmodern field, as indicated by Firat and Shultz (2001) and Brown (2006).

The core premises in postmodern societies are social science based on consumption (Firat, 1993). As already stated, several academics have recently paid attention to the postmodern approach to consumption (Brown, 1993; Van Raaij, 1993; Firat and Venkatesh, 1993, 1995; Venkatesh, 1990; Baudrillard, 2003). These scientists actually believed that post-modernism could dramatically change the way business activities are practiced in the everyday life of consumers. Sociologist Ritzer (1998: 1) says: ‘Postmodern society is more or less synonymous with consumer society.’ As examples of such remarks, Ritzer also points out Jameson (1994) and Featherstone (1996). Cova, one of the most influential scholars on postmodernism, has important insights into this topic.

Consumption should not be valued for its use qualities, the functionalities of the goods or the functional specifications of the user, but simply as meaning in terms of sign-values. Thus the supremacy of spectacle and hyper reality modes is emphasized by postmodern audience interactions rather than ‘real experience.’

Bordeiou, Class and Consumption

Bordeiou opposes the common concept that the ‘taste’ (i.e. consumer predilections) he refers to is the product of innate, individualistic human intelligence choices. Bordeiou denies the standard concept of what he terms ‘tastes’ (i.e. customer preferences). He suggests that this ‘Kantian aesthetics’ does not understand that preferences are socially conditioned and that consumer preference artifacts reflect a symbiotic hierarchy that the socially dominant establishes and retains, with a view to maintaining their distance from other groups in society. The customer behavior research by Bordeiou is a simple extension of his larger sociology project. Though Bourdieu’s study defies a simple description within the confines of Anglo-American sociology (Bordeiou and Wacquant 1992). However, the approach of Bordeiou attempts to step past the conventional (objectivistsubjectivist) dichotomy of British and North American social theory. The so called ‘structural agency problem’ aims at problematising human actions by questioning how social institutional and structural features interact with human agency (the autonomous human being).

Social classes (what Bordeiou calls ‘classes on paper’) can be differentiated within the consumption sector. Paper classes aren’t true communities because they don’t have a clear collective affiliation and don’t get organized to combat economic and cultural resources. Paper groups are composed of entities in multidimensional ‘capital space’ that hold identical roles (i.e., they possess similar amounts and types of capital). Their material and cultural state will also be identical and their conditioning will be similar. This ensures that class members ‘have the right to have common provisions and desires.

The above is just one series of examples to equate Bourdieu’s approach with the conventional Warnerian social status and market paradigm. The latter explicitly adopts a conventional structural-functional approach to the disparities in consumption between social groups. For Warner and his publicity lovers, different groups clearly have different preferences. The Warner paradigm appears not to aim to understand the complex sociological origins of class attitudes but to define choice behaviment. Bordeiou considers consumer activity, on the other hand, as one representation of a conflict (non Marxist) class with dynamic consequences for cultural hegemony. It was argued after Bordeiou that the choice of customers and aesthetic structures have deep origins in a class hierarchy which the culturally dominant imposes on society. The Kantian notion of ‘taste’ as a professor of affection that exists in the human intellect itself is an instrument that makes it possible to decide the society’s notion of ‘right’ and ‘appropriate’ food, clothes, leisure activities, lodging, literature, art etc… By the ‘inappropriate’ quantity and nature of cultural resources. Unlike Kant, Bordeiou argued that (in any sense) those decisions are the strictly subjective desires of the ruling social classes, which might determine.

Unfortunately, dominated class classes are unknown to the subjective existence of cultural hierarchy, so they are told that cultural and artistic judgments are drawn from some kind of ‘special knowledge’ In reality, however, the cultural choices of the dominant are the product of a ‘comfortable familiarity’ and the ‘legitimate autodidacticism’ advocated by higher learning institutions. In comparison, the well-documented education system class distortions guarantee that the powerful will retain its cultural superiority by restricting access to the means of exploitation for legitimate cultures.

Consumer Identity

Consumer culture is the core role in the later modernist historical phase of the West, whether we are black, white, obese or thin, man or woman, doctor or housewife, European or Australian, people with different identities are clearly consumers in everyday life and consumerism is a rather good idea in the post-modern world. In fact, consumers’ culture holds central roles in western modernism. Throughout the years there have been a series of approaches to personality and self-identity from various points of view: psychology, cognitive psychology, anthropology, sociology and philosophy. As Mach (2007) insists that personality is a relational creation, it is a self-image, which is created through a contact phase with others. It is also complex, contextual and enhances by dialogue and the various ways in which people share the meaning of the plurality of symbols, which make up their cultural environment and social ties.

Material culture, literature, traditions and myths all form the cultural patrimony of interaction-minded people, and many other symbolic constructs (including these) partake in the process of building images, serving as the material on which all of these images and boundaries between communities are created. There is not only a matter of constructing abstract identities but also power relationships in building one’s self-identity and others» (March 2007, p.54-55) that we need to remember. The process of collective symbolic identity takes the form of maintaining and legitimizing the e among social groups is unequal power balance.

Symbolic personality changes and identity forms result from the balance of power changes. Ardener believes that building representations of individuals and their identity models is an imposition performance (Andener, 1989 in March, 2007). It can give rise to the approval of this identifier. In general, an individual of a community may embrace its identity, as formed in a system of society by its partners, especially when those partners attain a stronger role in a social structure (Ardener, 2007).

In consumer culture, through the use of goods, services and interactions that we formulate and present as collective identities. Goods which signify social identification, but, compared with other identities, it seems more like a market feature in the post-traditional culture. The representations we created on the exterior of our bodies and our living place, identity, became a fundamental means of thinking and recognition. (Slater, 1997) In the aspect Giddens argued that with the introduction of modernity and facial decoration modes or dresses to certain degrees, body look and actions became increasingly important. Our personal impression, on the one hand, manifests our identity, so that we eat those things to better look and sound, an indication that we should take for granted that we set up our identity. Some use weight loss tools to make it look slim; whilst others may go to fitness centers and create their muscles and yoga, and make them healthy. They can use the products of makeup and beauty. ‘We prefer these goods over others precisely because they are not impartial, because they are culturally contradictory and also because they vary in our beliefs regarding social organisation and identity.

Finally, by eating people who make ‘choices’ they leads ‘identity crisis’ by providing more choices of pictures and choices of different identity and by raising the feeling of social danger to make the correct ‘defect option,’ consumer culture will increase the person’s fear and risk encounters by offering more choices of pictures and choices of different identities. For the two preceding points, then, identity ‘connects,’ for the second, the consumer culture poses the obstacle to the building of an identity.

Conclusion

In all stages, the focus principles, methodology and goals of market research embody both the field’s previous growth and developments in the broader science world. However, the centre of the field remained unchanged despite changing trends—including to consider human motives, thinking processes, or perceptions when consuming commodities, services, knowledge, and other items and to use them in designing approaches that strengthen both marketing campaigns for businesses and consumer goods for individuals and groups. It is important to look back and note the perspectives that this area has created in the midst of the excitement induced by emerging technology, social movements and customer experiences. The combination of recent insights and new research of these previous results would improve the field’s knowledge of customer behavior.

References

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The Internet ‘s growth has flipped the conventional direction of shopping on its ear, as consumers are becoming more and more well educated. Consumers have been part of the cycle, so had fun doing it. Whether advertisers may affect consumer behavior in this modern retail model, and where they can exploit the purchasing direction. After the subsections of this article, we would address the issues of the simple integration of brick mortar and online retailers, their disparities, reasons influencing their customers ‘ purchasing behaviour. The brick mortar shops have become more successful in the past than online retailers. But with new production period is very different from before. After the subsections of this article, we would address the issues of the simple integration of brick mortar and online retailers, their disparities, reasons influencing their customers ‘ purchasing behaviour. Online shops are more popular in the present time than brick mortar stores. According to Evanschitzky, Ekeledo and Sivakumar, Iqbal (2004, 2004 & 2003, quoted in Journal of Servicing Marketing 2007), brick mortar stores apply mainly to physical shops with a particular position building.

Consumers are affected by various factors in their choice of items, shops etc. For customers in brick mortar shops and internet retailers, the same situation exists too. Consumers are directly or indirectly influenced by multiple factors such as the nature of the goods sold, the trade mechanism, performance, market image, facilities supplied etc. The internet is also a big factor between them. We should know that identities are the critical factor each and every person can choose over various things depending on their own identity consumers. Another identification has to do with the one of shops. Online stores have a higher identity than brick mortar stores, but this does not mean that brick mortar stores are missing. Many of the negative topics that hamper customer behaviour are discussed in this article viz: Online procrastination will be positively associated with purchasing behaviour, online procrastination will be positively associated with online flow experience, and definitive procrastination will be associated with online procrastination positively. Similarly, if online system delays, consumers will not be able to get a good online flow experience.

According to Arnett (2002, quoted in the 2012 International Journal of Marketing Research), globalisation has wide-ranging consequences for psychological processes, and Alden, Steenkamp, & Batra (1999, quoted in the 2012 International Journal of Marketing Research) also claims that globalisation has wide-ranging consequences for consumer responses to market offerings. One of these variables in today’s world is the Internet, which influences consumer understanding of the market. As the internet was evolving, market stores were able to taste some positive changes in the attitudes of customers towards them. As the Internet makes it easier for consumers to easily buy and sell products without much effort, consumers enjoy online stores.

These growth of mortar brick stores makes it easier to name them as brick stores and click stores. Many researchers have done a number of investigations and found some remarkable facts about the effect of the internet on such markets. Infact development in various important factors such as the Internet and transportation makes it easier for consumers to connect to the modern market. McLuhan supports it too. According to McLuhan (1964, cited in International Journal of Marketing Research 2012), computer-mediated communication channels (social networks, email, and any Internet-based communication platform) are changing the way people around the world relate to each other. It is already well aware that brick mortar shops and online shops are very distinct from one another. Are different from each other. Consumers must go to the physically available store and look after the various items, check them and then select the product best and eventually purchase it.

Consumers don’t need to physically go to the brick mortar shops. Most brick mortar shops have also started their delivery services nowadays, where consumers can see the products online or go to the shops. Brick mortar stores have started promoting purchase options for this facility too. They’ve added online payment, reception card payment as well as cash payment. In online shops, those services are very different. Online stores offer services digitally without any real-life and physical presence. Digital shop consumers must search for the products digitally through the online website. They will pay online, and it takes a few days to get them the items. Those are some of the online retailers’ negative parts, but they do have positive parts as well. Consumers do not need to waste their precious time in physical shops. We can check the goods online as the brands we like. Consumers can get just one touch of such valuable service. It doesn’t just apply to consumers. Buford (cited in Journal of Servicing Marketing 2007) says that online e-tailing makes online trading cheaper for consumers, more convenient and more selective, fewer processing errors, faster transactions, reduces consumer anonymity and provides good savings for consumers. According to Halpern (2004, quoted in Journal of Servicing Marketing 2007), trade statistics show that while services such as travel , tourism, financial services, and music are provided on the internet, it has adverse effects on tangible products such as grocery stores, clothing, etc. Total revenue from travel sites was expected to increase in 2009 to yield total revenue of $91 billion or 33 per cent of all travel services purchased in that year. In this fast-growing world, everything is developing and moving towards the world to come, full of technology development and many other sectors.

Such development has a direct and valuable market role as well. Since it is known that most stores nowadays rely on many factors, internet is also one of them that plays a vital role in online marketing. Development of such technologies that contribute to market development is a plus point for stores. Such new ideas and techniques play an important role in influencing behaviour buying from consumers. Such technologies and ideas are based mainly on providing consumers with a more efficient and effective shopping experience. This motivates consumers to try different new shopping opportunitie. That motivates customers to try out various new shopping systems. Brick mortar stores are able to increase their sales, and online retailers are able to grow their sales. These new and strong sections of the market tend to decrease the disadvantages in them, or we may assume that these drawbacks are less successful in the face of all these positive parts. Another proposal to improve these goods is the launch of new products. According to Wankhade and Dabade (2010, cited in Production and Process Management 2016), a downside is especially important when the new product’s touch-and-feel plays an integral role in customer buying decisions , for example in product categories such as clothing , jewellery, shoes, furniture , home decor, etc. Before the time of brick mortar stores moving to brick and click stores with the aid of new technology and innovations like internet, brick mortar stores and other large retail stores were trying to make sure that they could gain customer trust and draw them to other vendors with discount on their goods.

They’ve used to offer the commodity wholesale price. This argument can be elaborated more clearly by the reference provided by Munson and Rosenblatt and Geylani (1999, 2007, cited in Production and Activity Management 2016) to the effect that, before the brick-and-click period, conventional retailers (such as Home Depot and Wal‐Mart) are enhancing their ability to attract product offerings from different vendors (higher R in our context), usually manufacturers. Studying the above-mentioned evidence, it is reported that online stores nowadays are growing customer trust and evolving more than brick mortar stores. Because this period is shifting rapidly to less a cash period. Online, convenient and secure shopping experience can be obtained from all of the transactions. The Internet has the greater part to play in motivating customers to change their behaviour. Brick-mortar stores are embracing an online system to develop their business, as a result of which they have already begun to make maximised profit than before. A supplier may induce a retailer to provide the quality of service and/or price that the manufacturer also requires. Yet the buyers of brick-mortar stores are also affected by online stores because of which brick-mortar stores were compelled to implement online systems for their company to gain customer trust. Digital retailers can also achieve benefits by updating them as their actual condition in time. The Internet has more responsibility for putting forward multiple meaningful consumption results for online and brick mortar stores in the future. Brick mortar stores and online retailers have implemented strategies for increasing their business online.

Digital retailers will definitely have more use in future than brick mortar retailers. Today, retailers are frequently faced with multiple new product offers, with an exogenously assigned minimum profit margin likely to be the most successful way for many retailers to determine whether to approve or reject a new product. It’s sure online stores will have more consumption in the future than brick mortar stores. Retailers today often face numerous new product offerings, with the use of an exogenously given minimum profit threshold likely to be the most efficient way for many retailers to decide whether to accept or reject a new product. The Internet was influential in shaping customer purchasing behaviour. Backed by state-of-the-art technology , customer decision can be easily regulated. In addition , the role of fashion blogs in providing product reviews is also important, as word-of – mouth is believed to be the strongest marketing tool affecting customer buying behaviour. The manufacturers must also pay careful attention to the details available on the internet, especially in relation to their commodity or products, and take decisive action to keep the customer happy and to become a loyal user. A variety of innovative product launches are also met by consumers, with the usage of an exogenously assigned minimum benefit margin likely to be the most reliable method for certain consumers to determine whether to approve or refuse a new product.

Reference list

1. Reed, A., Forehand, M. R., Puntoni, S., & Warlop, L. (2012). Identity-based consumer behavior. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 29(4), 310-321. doi: 10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.08.002
2. Rajamma, R., Paswan, A., & Ganesh, G. (2007). Journal of Servicing Marketing. Services purchased at brick and mortar versus online stores, and shopping motivation, 21(3), 200-212. doi: 10.1108/08876040710746552
3. Luo, L., & Sun, J. (2016). Production and Operation Management. New Product Design under Channel Acceptance: Brick‐and‐Mortar, Online‐Exclusive, or Brick‐and‐Click, doi: 10.1111/poms.12587
4. Zanjani, S. H. A, Milne, G. R. , & Miller, E. G. (2016). Procrastinations’ online experience and purchase behaviour. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44(5), 568-585. Doi:10.1007/s 11747-015-0458-1
5. Hult, G. T. M., Sharma, P. N., & Morgeson, F. V. (2019). Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Satisfaction: Do They Differ Across Online and Offline Purchases? Journal of Retailing, 95(1), 10-23. doi: 10.1016/j. jretai. 2018.10.003

The purpose of this report is to evaluate the various factors that influence consumers to buy organic products based on various socio-demographic factors such as age, employment, consumption rate and buying patterns.

Consumer Awareness of Organic Foods

According to Soler et al. (2008), Freeland-Graves and Nitzke (2010), understanding and education are the two key critical factors influencing consumer’s attitudes against organic products. Chakrabarti (2007), Compagnoni et al. (2010) and Cunningham (2012) performed a number of scientific studies to determine the significance of the Special Issue 2644 of the International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics. The understanding, disposition, and behavior of consumers are likely to affect the trend of buying organic food products between developed and developing economies. Squires (2011) suggested that in advanced countries acquiring pattern, expertise and understanding are slightly greater than those in developing countries. He also stated that lower awareness rates in countries such as India are one of the key reasons why organic foods persist in the primary developmental phase.

The Health Concerns of Consumers

Loureiro et al. (2010), Nair (2015) indicated that the increased awareness of customer well-being, food safety and awareness of the environment has resulted in a gradually growing preference of obese people for organic products. According to Chinnici et al. (2012), O’Donovan and McCarthy (2002), Harper and Makatouni (2012), consumers choose to see items that are deemed organic to be manufactured or imported locally, providing detailed details about the country the product was made from, how new the belongings are, and the degree to which the product has improved their wellbeing.

Consumer Environmental Awareness

Consumer attitudes have advanced over the years largely due to different ethical environmental impacts. McKinsey (2017) piloted an experiment and found that customers are more worried about the negative effects of pesticides and other harmful chemicals on farms in countries like Canada, the United States, China and India. Seyfang (2016) indicated that safety and environmental concerns in turn constitute a joint incentive aimed at ethical consumerism. Ethical consumerism is an aspect of consumer advocacy about the purchase of ethical goods at low social and environmental prices, and a moral loss for unethical products (Giesler and Veresiu, 2014). Enhanced consumer awareness of environmental concerns has increased demand for environmentally friendly products. A dramatic change in consumer behaviors and buying intentions occurred when they realized the harm that conventional farming caused to the ecosystem.

Organic Items Available in Supermarket

One of the major obstacles that restrict users from buying organic items is their lack of availability of timely stores. That appears to be unfavorable to organic products. Fair price, good quality, wide range of pricing and availability, guarantee, enhanced services help to develop a favorable preference for organic products. If customers with a nurturing environment for organic products communicate with each other, a greater desire to purchase more organic products will translate into higher market growth.

Consumers Ready to Pay for Organic Foods

Doorn et al. (2011) conducted a study to determine the willingness of a consumer to pay for organic products in the Netherlands. The results showed that health, environmental sustainability and the need for quality products are the main factors that forced people to pay an extra premium while owning them. In Spain, Mesias Diaz et al. (2010) undertook a test to determine user knowledge, their pattern of consumption as well as their willingness to pay for organic tomatoes. Using only a private interviewing skill, primary data were assembled. The study result demonstrates that price serves as a constraint to the acquisition of organic products. If an individual finds it difficult to differentiate between organic and conventional grown food products, a premium charge on organic products can confuse an ordinary buyer and could even affect his or her buying decision.

Organic Products Quality and Safety

Organic crop cultivation removes the use of harmful insecticides and compounds to preserve crops. Governments, specialists in the healthcare industry, scholars, etc. are actively promoting food safety. Thompson & Kidwell 2016 asserts that its skin-deep quality is directly connected to the physical appearance of an organic product. Researchers claim, the research that we have done so far shows that consumers do not follow their outer appearance. Thompson & Kidwell 2016 argues that while acquiring organic food items, most customers regarded these effects to be insignificant. Several studies show that consumers see flavor as another key factor in the purchase. Study demonstrates that when compared to normal substitutes, consumers demand organic products to have higher nutritional significance and taste.

Gender Affects the Decision to Buy Organic Food

Older women with kids in the family are usually the organic food customers (Renne et al., 2007). Women have been identified with higher health awareness and have been seen as innovators in changing diets (Rodriguez et al., 2007). In addition, while paying a premium for organic food, females are more committed to natural foods and environmental values. While younger customers are showing more interest and favorable attitudes towards organic food, elderly customers are the primary buyers (Magnusson et al., 2003). In addition, parents tend to be very interested in organic food when buying it for their family or when a child arrives (Hughner, McDonagh, Prothero, Shultz, & Stanton, 2007). Consumers who tend to follow the practice of green consumption are more inclined to eat organic products (Lockie, Lyons, Lawrence & Mummery, 2002). The people and women with more revenue and education, awareness of the benefits of organic food and food risks in standard food was greater.

Demand for Organic Food Is Growing

Growing demand in organic food is the consequence of increased awareness of the environment along with occurrences of food safety. The less harmful attitude towards the environment and a healthier option compared with traditional ingredients also plays a crucial role in altering the attitude towards organic foods (Hsu & Chen, 2014) In order to increase consumer demand for organic food, the link between health benefits and environmental welfare should be reinforced (Magnusson et al., 2003; Shafie & Rennie, 2012).

Organic food production is still very small in most Asian nations. However, in developing countries, the favorable attitude towards organic foods is growing, but owing to the high price and absence of laws and regulations, it plays a crucial part in pursuing it further (Rehber & Turhan, 2002). There are dangers and constraints in the agricultural sector in developing nations to produce organic foods, according to the Commission of Sustainable Development. In addition, organic food production should not be the answer to developing countries’ requirements. The reason for this declaration might be the low availability of organic farming methods to support agricultural and rural development. Sarker and Itohara (2007) indicated that exporting and earning foreign currency should be the production of organic food in developing nations. As global demand increases, developing nations can profit from this chance.

Sarker and Itohara (2008) stated that the strength of developing nations producing organic foods is high availability of relatively inexpensive labor, low level of use of external inputs, favorable natural circumstances, and varied farming structure. The possibilities could be the new profitable overseas export markets, increasing demand growth in domestic markets. However, reliance on overseas markets and absence of R&D could also be a threat to the production of organic products (Rehber & Tarhan 2011).

The Amount of Income Impacts the Choice to Buy Organic Food

It will rely on demographic factors along with lifestyle and environmental attitudes while segmenting the target market for organic food. Regular organic food customers tend to be high-class, affluent, and educated. However, unsafe and unhealthy traditional food has resulted in more favorable attitudes towards organic food demand for customers. The younger and wealthier people are more drawn to organic food in developing nations compared to others (Pugliese, Zanasi, Atallah, & Cosimo, 2013). Because of the premium pricing, organic food is available to and from the middle class. Although consumers don’t want to create a decision between organic and conventional foods, they want to have a lot of choices in organic foods specifically. While customers do not want to make a choice between organic and conventional foods, they specifically want to have a lot of options in organic foods.

Conclusion

Consumers depend on information on product characteristics and experience with it to make the purchase decision of products. The values and priorities of consumers also play a crucial role in purchase choices. Experience is also a significant factor in developing the motivational state. In addition, dietary content is component of an element of quality that connects customers to private health welfare. High levels of vitamins, healthy diets and more nourishing meals were the reasons for buying organic food.

Need Recognition

In this stage first the buyer would recognize the need for a product, which will satisfy particular desire than they would think about his position. He sets the product and his position without that product usually by external or internal stimulus.

Information search

Once the consumer recognizes the need he may or may not search for more information if the need is so intense, the consumer would get should of the particular products which world satisfy the need whereas is not so intense, then he simple store the need in his money.

Evaluation of alternatives

• In this stage buyer has information about different brand of some production in this process of evaluation.
• First: The consumers see a bundle of attributes in a product then he would pay maximum to these attributes that are connected with his needs.
• Second: He would assign weight or importance to each one of the attributes.
• Third: The consumer develops a set of brand belief where each brands stands on each attributes. This may either buy comparing with actual product attributes.
• Fourthly and fifthly buyer: Arises at judgment or preference towards the brand alternatives using same evaluation procedure.

Purchase decision:

Based on evaluation stage the consumer will rank the product of his preference he will then from purchase intention usually he will buy the most preferred product among the several alternatives. Purchase decision is also influenced after considering risks cost involved, that amount of uncertainly about the product attributes etc. Post purchase decisions: – After purchasing the product the consumer may either he satisfied with the product or dissatisfied. This depends on the relation and the products perceived consumers. If the product matches with the consumers he is highly satisfied the consumers expectation is mostly based on the information he received from the producers and so any exaggeration by the later will mean the consumer will be dissatisfied about the product after the purchase of course.

Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is defined as all psychological social and physical behaviour of potential customers as they become aware of evaluate, purchase, consumer and tell other about products and services each element of this definition is important. Buyer behaviour involves both individual (psychological) processes & group (social) process.

• Consumer behavior is reflected from awareness right through post purchases.
• Consumer behavior includes communication purchasing and consumption behavior.

Importance of consumer behaviour:

• The importance of studying consumer behavior is routed deeply in the modern concept through studying the consumer behavior business can help consumer solve their consumption problems by understanding them and trying to analysis the buying process and factors influencing it.
• The Emerging buyer movement necessitates market to understanding buyer behavior, their needs aspirations. Expectations and problems it will be useful in exploiting marketing opportunities and meeting challenges of the markets.
• The marketing is consumer oriented consumer is the king of the market the marketers must try to offer the product favored by the customer at the price he is to pay through the distribution channel convenient to him with the right type of promotion to do this a study of buyer behaviour is necessary.

Scope of consumer behaviour

The study of the consumer behaviour is the study of how individuals make decision to spend their available resources on the consumption related items. It includes the study of what they buy why they buy it and how after they buy it.

Need For Consumer Behaviour Study

Each individual has a different reason and motivating factors in his or her choice of tubes the consumer may commit his resources on a particular brand of tubes for reasons of economy. His decision encompasses various repurchased actual purchase and post purchase.

Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour:

The major factors influencing a consumers buying behavior are:-

1. Cultural factors
2. Social factors
3. Personal factors
4. Psychological factors

1. Cultural Factors;

Cultural factors have the deepest influence on consumer behavior.

Cultural

Is the most fundamental determinant of all people’s wants and behavior the growing child acquires all sets of value, perception. Preferences and behavior through his or her family and other key institution. It includes value of achievement, success, activity efficiency freedom and progress material comfort.

Sub culture

Each culture consists of smaller sub culture that provides more specific identification and specialization for their members. Sub culture includes nationality, religion, races, geographical area and social group.

Social Class

Social class is relatively homogeneous and society is divided hierarchically. All human societies’ exhibit social satisfaction, stratification sometimes takes from of a caste system where the members of difference castes are record for creation roles and cannot change their caste membership.

2. Social Factor

Reference group:

A person’s reference group that which have a direct or indirect influence on the person’s attitude or behavior there are different types of group they are:-

• Membership group are those group which have direct influence on the group.
• Aspiration group are those group where people like to become a member of that group.
• Dissociate group are those group where people do not like to become the member of that group.
• Family is the most important consumer buying organization in the society and it has been researched extensively. Family constitutes a primary reference group.

3. Personal Factors

(1) Age:

People by different goods and services over a life time. Infant consumes baby foods, young adults may have variety food and old age people consume special diet food in the later years.

(2) Family life cycle:

Consumption is shaped by family life cycle there are 9 stages of family life cycle depending on financial institution and product interest.

(3) Occupation and Economic Circumstances:

Occupation:-

It also influences a person’s consumption pattern. A blue collared worker will buy work cloths. Shoes lunch box etc. A company president wills expensive suits, air travel and country club membership. Marketers will have to identify which occupational group will be interested in their products and work out marketing strategies to communicate about their product and services.

Economic Circumstances:

Product choice is affected by economic circumstances marketers are concerned about the level of spend able income. Savings and assets, debts borrowing power and attitudes towards spending v/s saving.

Life Style: It is the people’s pattern of living and it can be understand by referring to AIO (Activity interest & Opinion) Life style of a person conveys more than the person’s social class or personality. An understanding of a person’s life style will help in giving a profile of whole person’s pattern of living and interacting with the world.

Personality and Self Concept:

Personality :

Is usually described in terms of such traits as self confidence. Sociality, defensiveness, dominance and adoptability.

• Self – Concept:It can be defined as complex mental pictures of us. Self concept consists of mainly three divisions namely.
• Actual self – concept – What you think of yourself
• Ideal self – Concept – What you want others to think about yourself
• Other self – concept – What others actually think about you?

Psychological Factor:

Motivation:

It can be said to be the inner drive that is sufficiently pressing and direct the person to seek the satisfaction of the need satisfaction of the need reduces the felt tension.

Perception:

It is a process by which an individual selects organizes and interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. Perception depends not only on the physical stimuli but also on the stimuli’s relation to the surrounding field and on condition within the individual.

Belief and attitude:

Belief:

A belief is a thought that a person holds about something. People act based on their belief these beliefs help in building up product and brand image.

Attitude:

An attitude can be said as persons enduring favorable or unfavorable cognitive evaluation, emotional feeling & action tendencies towards some object or idea.

Here will be the comparison and buying behavior of soaps of two different brands:

Overview of HUL

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods company with a heritage of over 80 years in India. On any given day, nine out of ten Indian households use our products to feel good, look good and get more out of life – giving us a unique opportunity to build a brighter future.

HUL works to create a better future every day and helps people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.

With over 35 brands spanning 20 distinct categories such as soaps, detergents, shampoos, skin care, toothpastes, deodorants, cosmetics, tea, coffee, packaged foods, ice cream, and water purifiers, the Company is a part of the everyday life of millions of consumers across India. Its portfolio includes leading household brands such as Lux, Lifebuoy, Surf Excel, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Vaseline, Lakmé, Dove, Clinic Plus, Sunsilk, Pepsodent, Closeup, etc.

The Company has about 18,000 employees and has sales of INR 37660 crores (financial year 2018-19). HUL is a subsidiary of Unilever, one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home Care, Personal Care and Refreshment products with sales in over 190 countries and an annual sales turnover of €51 billion in 2018. Unilever has over 67% shareholding in HUL.

The Brand –Dove

Unilever was established in 1930 and since that time, the brands introduced by Unilever are attaining the leading position in the International markets. Among all those brands by Unilever, Dove is one of the most famous brands in the consumer industry and they use Dove daily for their skincare and hair care. There is a wide range of brands of Dove including soap bars, face washes, shampoos, conditioners, deodorants, moisturizing creams etc. that are used in 1 in 3 houses all over the world.

Unilever’s brand name used for many years on toilet soap became so successful its name was extended to other products. However, being the consumers’ best choice, Dove is enjoying the leading position in the market with the largest market shares in 75 countries and is a 2.5 billion Euros brand. The goals of Dove brands are to comply with the needs of the consumers all over the world and to work together in effective manner to adopt the advanced ideas while working out on the existing ones.

Dove is a personal care brand owned by Unilever. Dove products are manufactured in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and United States. The products are sold in more than 35 countries and are offered for both women and men. The Dove trademark and brand name is currently owned by Unilever. Dove’s logo is a silhouette profile of the brand’s namesake bird, the color of which often varies. Products include: antiperspirants/deodorants, body washes, beauty bars, lotions/moisturizers, hair care, and facial care products.

The major competitors of Dove brands are Palmolive by Colgate-Palmolive and Ivory and Oil of Olay by P&G, but Dove is still at the top because of the consumers’ confidence in it, its best quality and curative advantages that keep the skin moist and beautiful and hair healthy and shiny by the advanced formulae of ¼ moisturizing cream, conditioners, vitamin B5, Vitamin E and nutrients used in Dove brands that also helps for the aged people to keep their skin protected from wrinkles.

Hence the success of Dove brands is attributed to just one thing that Unilever goes extra miles to give the loyal consumers high-quality, competitive products and services

The products under the brand Dove can be listed under the following heads

Shampoos and Conditioners

• Dove intense repair
• Dove hair fall rescue
• Dove daily shine
• Dove dryness care
• Dove dandruff care
• Hair Treatments
• Heat defense mist
• Intensive repair overnight mask
• Intensive repair regenerating mask
• Body lotions
• Essential nourishment
• Go fresh nourishment
• Indulgent nourishment
• Bar and body wash
• Crème
• Fresh moisture
• Gentle exfoliating
• Antiperspirants
• Original
• Silk dry
• Clear Touch anti-white marks

The gathered data is then processed, analyzed and interpreted in a systematic and objective fashion to understand what reasons influence the loyalty of the consumers being studied towards the brand.

Analysis of the results

The survey was undertaken on customers of Dove products and 60% of the respondents rated Dove positive in terms of quality which indicates that a majority of the consumer base uses Dove products because of the quality it provides to them. In addition to this a good 48% people think that it is a good value for money brand and the amount that they pay for the products gives them the kind of satisfaction they require out the products they buy.

Also 50% of the people surveyed believe that the products are different in terms of quality as compared to other brands providing similar kind of products. This number reinforces the results of question number 1 in which people rate Dove positive in terms of quality and therefore we can say that as far as quality is concerned Dove as a brand has an affirmative image in the minds of its users . Looking at the results of question number four we can see that more than 50% percent of the people feel that their family members also value the brand, the brand suits them, the brand is trustworthy and credible, they will spread positive word about the brand. These results insinuate that the users as well as peers value the brand highly they trust the brand and are readily willing to recommend it to other people.

They think that the brand suits them and no other brand available in the market is able to satisfy them then way Dove does. On the other hand people don’t feel that Dove products are any different from their competitors, this can mean that people use the products just for the fact that it satisfies their needs and is a good value for money but incase some competitor launches products that is perceived better than Dove products it is possible that the customers might switch to the competitors products.

Also, from looking at the responses of question number 6 through 9 we can say that a major chunk of the people surveyed regularly buy Dove products and other things being equal people are most likely to repurchase the brand even if the brand increases price, there is a stock out situation or even if a competitors lowers his price or comes up with similar lower priced products people are loyal enough to stick to the brand. However, when consumers were asked about whether Dove products were better than its competitors only a small percentage of 18% agreed to it, this means although people are highly satisfied with the quality of products they still don’t find other brands inferior.

Findings and recommendations

Similar to any other brand’s customers Dove’s customers also fall in various consumer categories, which are explained below along with the percentage in each category:

1. Hardcore loyal: These are those customers which are satisfied with the brand will not switch to other brands in any situation. In Dove’s case this percentage is close to 30 percent.
2. Switching loyal: This is that category in which people are not emotionally attached to the product and if they feel that there is a brand which is better in terms of quality they will switch to the other brand in no time. But if they find that the second product is not living upto there expectations than they might switch back to the first product again. In Dove’s case this percentage is a 26 percent. This is a segment that Dove really needs to work upon and turn them into hardcore loyal.
3. Not loyal: This is category which is not loyal at all and is more than ready to switch to other brands in case of a fall in the price of other brands. These people are very price sensitive and are using dove just because it suits them and is easy on their pocket. The percentage of this category for Dove is a whopping 28%. For these people the brand does not need to bother much because they are price sensitive and will not stick to the brand in any way except lowering the price.

Overall the brand enjoys a fairly good reputation in the minds of the customers and the customers feel that it’s a value for money brand that gives them great benefits and enough satisfaction. The survey concludes that Dove has a strong loyal customer base but at the same time it also has a segment of customers which are price sensitive and not loyal in the true sense, therefore it should make constant efforts to retain the customers it already has and make efforts to turn the not so loyal switchers into hardcore loyal.