Consumer: A person or individual who uses Goods or Services
Behaviour: The way a person behaves toward other people or things.
Consumer Market: “All the individuals and households who buy goods and services.”
Consumer Behaviour: “All psychological, Social, and physical behaviour of all potential consumers as they become aware of, evaluate, purchase, consume and tell others about products and services.”
Consumer behaviour of Indian Consumer is different from Americans or Japanese or French or other country or regions. Consumer behaviour is mainly depends on influence of values, beliefs, culture, climate, customs, practices and social structure etc.
Consumers——-> Demand for Goods and Services
A Business Firm——>Delivery or Supply of Goods and Services to the Customers/Consumers
Consumer behavior is multidimensional in nature and it is influenced by the following subjects:
- Sociology is the study of groups. When individuals form groups, their actions are sometimes relatively different from the actions of those individuals when they are operating individually.
- Psychology is a discipline that deals with the study of mind and behavior. It helps in understanding individuals and groups by establishing general principles and researching specific cases. Psychology plays a vital role in understanding how consumers behave while making a purchase.
- Cultural Anthropology is the study of human beings in society. It explores the development of central beliefs, values and customs that individuals inherit from their parents, which influence their purchasing patterns.
- Social Psychology is a combination of sociology and psychology. It explains how an individual operates in a group. Group dynamics play an important role in purchasing decisions. Opinions of peers, reference groups, their families and opinion leaders influence individuals in their behavior.