75  Consumer Behaviour; Consumer buying process; factors influencing consumer buying decisions

75.1 Concept of Consumer Behaviour

Consumer behaviour is “the study of how individuals, groups and organisations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants” (Kotler & Keller). It blends psychology (perception, motivation, learning, attitudes), sociology (groups, culture, family), anthropology (rituals, sub-culture), and economics (utility, rationality). Marketers study it to predict response and personalise offerings.

75.2 Buyer Black-Box / S-O-R Model

Kotler’s Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) framework:

TipS-O-R / Buyer Black-Box Model
  • Stimuli: 4 Ps + Other (economic, technical, political, cultural).
  • Buyer’s Black-Box: Buyer’s characteristics + Buyer’s decision process.
  • Response: Product choice, brand choice, dealer choice, purchase timing, amount.

75.3 Five-Stage Consumer Buying Process

TipBuying Decision Process (Kotler)
Stage Working
1. Problem / Need recognition Trigger by internal or external stimuli
2. Information search Internal memory + external (personal, commercial, public, experiential)
3. Evaluation of alternatives Attributes, importance weights, brand beliefs, utility, decision rules
4. Purchase decision Choice + intentions modifiers (attitudes of others, unexpected situational factors)
5. Post-purchase behaviour Satisfaction, dissonance, usage and disposal

75.3.1 Decision Rules

TipChoice Heuristics
  • Conjunctive — minimum cut-off on each attribute.
  • Disjunctive — high score on any one attribute.
  • Lexicographic — rank attributes, pick best on most important.
  • Elimination-by-aspects — eliminate one attribute at a time.
  • Compensatory — high score on one offsets low on another (Multi-Attribute Attitude Model — Fishbein).

75.4 Buyer Types & Buying Roles

TipFive Buying Roles
  • Initiator — suggests the idea.
  • Influencer — affects decision.
  • Decider — final say.
  • Buyer — actually purchases.
  • User — consumes.

75.5 Types of Buying Behaviour (Assael)

Assael’s 2×2 framework on involvement × brand-difference:

TipFour Buying Behaviour Types
Behaviour Involvement Brand diff. Example
Complex High High Car, laptop
Dissonance-reducing High Low Carpet, life insurance
Habitual Low Low Salt, sugar
Variety-seeking Low High Biscuits, snacks

75.6 Factors Influencing Consumer Behaviour

Kotler’s classic four-set framework:

75.6.1 Cultural Factors

TipCultural Factors
  • Culture — most fundamental determinant of wants.
  • Sub-culture — region, religion, language, age cohort, nationality.
  • Social class — wealth, occupation, education-based stratification.

75.6.2 Social Factors

TipSocial Factors
  • Reference groups — membership, aspirational, dissociative.
  • Family — orientation family (parents) and procreation family (spouse, kids).
  • Roles & status.
  • Word-of-mouth, opinion leaders, influencers.

75.6.3 Personal Factors

TipPersonal Factors
  • Age and life-cycle stage.
  • Occupation and economic circumstances.
  • Personality and self-concept.
  • Lifestyle and values (VALS, AIO).

75.6.4 Psychological Factors

TipPsychological Factors
  • Motivation — Maslow’s hierarchy; Herzberg’s two-factor; Freud’s drives.
  • Perception — selective attention, distortion, retention; subliminal.
  • Learning — Pavlovian (Classical), Operant (Skinner), Cognitive.
  • Beliefs and attitudes — multi-attribute models.
  • Memory — schemas, brand associations.

75.7 Major Models of Consumer Behaviour

TipKey Models
  • Economic model (Marshall) — rational utility maximisation.
  • Psychological / Pavlovian model — classical conditioning.
  • Sociological model (Veblen) — conspicuous consumption.
  • Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) model — 5-stage cognitive.
  • Howard-Sheth model — stimulus-perception-learning-response.
  • Nicosia model — message → consumer attitude → purchase → feedback.
  • Black-Box / S-O-R model (Kotler).

75.8 Buyer Personas & Personality Types

Marketers often classify buyers as:

TipBuyer Persona Types
  • Innovators / Trend-setters.
  • Bargain hunters / Deal-prone.
  • Brand loyalists.
  • Quality seekers.
  • Status seekers / Conspicuous.
  • Impulse buyers.
  • Environmentally conscious / Green.

75.9 Industrial / Organisational Buying

Webster & Wind model — Buying Centre with five roles (similar to consumer roles + Gatekeeper). Buy-grid framework: New-task / Modified rebuy / Straight rebuy.

75.10 Online Consumer Behaviour

TipDigital Consumer Trends
  • Mobile-first browsing.
  • Social commerce — Instagram, WhatsApp Business.
  • Influencer-driven discovery.
  • Reviews and ratings — pivotal trust signal.
  • Cart abandonment and remarketing.
  • Personalisation via algorithms.
  • Voice commerce and conversational AI.
  • Sustainability and ethical concerns.

flowchart TB
  C[Consumer Behaviour] --> P[5-step Process<br/>Need · Search · Eval · Purchase · Post-purchase]
  C --> F[Influences<br/>Cultural · Social · Personal · Psychological]
  C --> T[Types<br/>Complex · Dissonance · Habitual · Variety]
  C --> M[Models<br/>EKB · Howard-Sheth · Nicosia · Black-Box]
    classDef default fill:#003366,color:#ffffff,stroke:#ffcc00,stroke-width:3px,rx:10px,ry:10px;

NoteDistractor warning

PYQ trap: Buying process — 5 stages (Kotler); Assael’s 4 types — Complex / Dissonance-reducing / Habitual / Variety-seeking. EKB = Engel-Kollat-Blackwell. Howard-Sheth is more comprehensive.

75.11 Practice Questions

Q 01StagesEasy

First stage of consumer buying process:

  • APurchase decision
  • BProblem / need recognition
  • CEvaluation of alternatives
  • DPost-purchase
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Need recognition** = trigger.
Q 02AssaelMedium

Buying a car typically reflects:

  • AHabitual buying
  • BVariety-seeking
  • CComplex buying
  • DDissonance-reducing
View solution
Correct Option: C
High involvement + high brand difference = **complex buying**.
Q 03SaltMedium

Buying salt or sugar is usually:

  • AHabitual
  • BVariety-seeking
  • CComplex
  • DDissonance-reducing
View solution
Correct Option: A
Low involvement + low brand difference = **habitual**.
Q 04RolesEasy

Which is NOT a consumer buying role?

  • AInitiator
  • BInfluencer
  • CInventor
  • DUser
View solution
Correct Option: C
**Inventor** is not a buying role.
Q 05MaslowMedium

Maslow's hierarchy in marketing context refers to:

  • ALearning
  • BMotivation
  • CPerception
  • DMemory
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Motivation** — hierarchy of needs.
Q 06Black boxHard

S-O-R model stands for:

  • ASales-Output-Revenue
  • BStimulus-Organism-Response
  • CSource-Object-Receiver
  • DStage-Outcome-Result
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Stimulus-Organism-Response** — buyer black box.
Q 07EKBHard

EKB model is by:

  • AEngel-Kollat-Blackwell
  • BKotler-Keller
  • CHoward-Sheth
  • DVeblen
View solution
Correct Option: A
**Engel, Kollat, Blackwell** (1968).
Q 08DissonanceHard

Cognitive dissonance was given by:

  • AMaslow
  • BLeon Festinger (1957)
  • CPavlov
  • DVeblen
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Festinger 1957** — post-purchase regret.
Q 09VeblenMedium

"Conspicuous consumption" is associated with:

  • AMarshall
  • BThorstein Veblen
  • CFreud
  • DMaslow
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Veblen (1899)** — luxury consumption for status.
Q 10VALSMedium

VALS framework relates to:

  • APersonality and lifestyle
  • BChannel design
  • CPricing
  • DBranding
View solution
Correct Option: A
**VALS — Values And Lifestyles** (psychographic).
Q 11PavlovMedium

Classical conditioning is associated with:

  • AMaslow
  • BPavlov
  • CSkinner
  • DVeblen
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Pavlov** — classical conditioning; Skinner = operant.
Q 12ReferenceMedium

Aspirational groups affect:

  • ACultural factors
  • BSocial factors
  • CPersonal factors
  • DPsychological factors
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Social factors** — reference groups.
Q 13Howard-ShethHard

Howard-Sheth model focuses on:

  • AOrganisational buying only
  • BComprehensive learning-based consumer buying
  • CPure utility
  • DPricing decisions
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Howard-Sheth (1969)** — extensive, limited, routinised problem-solving.
Q 14Webster-WindHard

Webster & Wind model deals with:

  • AConsumer buying
  • BIndustrial / Organisational buying
  • CFamily decision-making
  • DRetail behaviour
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Organisational buying model**.
Q 15Buy-classMedium

A repeat order without changes is a:

  • ANew task
  • BModified rebuy
  • CStraight rebuy
  • DCross-buy
View solution
Correct Option: C
**Straight rebuy** — routine reorder.
Q 16Stage 2Easy

"Reading product reviews online" falls in:

  • ANeed recognition
  • BInformation search
  • CPurchase decision
  • DPost-purchase
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Information search** — public source.
Q 17FamilyMedium

"Family of orientation" refers to:

  • ASpouse and children
  • BParents and siblings
  • CFriends
  • DCo-workers
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Orientation** = parents/siblings; *procreation* = spouse/kids.
Q 18FishbeinHard

Multi-Attribute Attitude Model is by:

  • AMaslow
  • BFishbein
  • CKotler
  • DPavlov
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Fishbein** — compensatory attitude model.
Q 19SubliminalHard

Subliminal perception involves:

  • AConscious attention
  • BBelow-threshold stimuli
  • CDirect advertising
  • DCognitive learning
View solution
Correct Option: B
**Below conscious threshold** stimuli.
Q 20MatchMedium

Match factor with element:

Element Category
(i) Sub-culture (a) Personal
(ii) Reference group (b) Psychological
(iii) Age & lifestyle (c) Cultural
(iv) Perception (d) Social
  • A(i)-(c), (ii)-(d), (iii)-(a), (iv)-(b)
  • B(i)-(a), (ii)-(b), (iii)-(c), (iv)-(d)
  • C(i)-(d), (ii)-(c), (iii)-(b), (iv)-(a)
  • D(i)-(b), (ii)-(a), (iii)-(d), (iv)-(c)
View solution
Correct Option: A
Sub-culture-Cultural; Reference group-Social; Age-Personal; Perception-Psychological.

75.12 Quick Recall

ImportantQuick recall
  • S-O-R / Black box: stimuli + characteristics → response.
  • 5-stage buying process: Need → Search → Evaluate → Purchase → Post-purchase.
  • Buying roles: Initiator, Influencer, Decider, Buyer, User (+ Gatekeeper in B2B).
  • Assael’s 4 types: Complex / Dissonance-reducing / Habitual / Variety-seeking.
  • 4 influencers: Cultural / Social / Personal / Psychological.
  • Models: Marshall (Economic), Pavlov, Veblen (Sociological), EKB, Howard-Sheth, Nicosia, S-O-R; Webster-Wind for organisational buying.
  • Buy-class: New task / Modified rebuy / Straight rebuy.
  • Psychology: Maslow (motivation), Festinger 1957 (dissonance), Pavlov (CC), Skinner (OC), Fishbein (multi-attribute attitudes).