CARDIFF METROPOLITAN UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSAL BUSINESS SCHOOL

A report on
Purchase Behaviour of Home Audio Equipment

Name: Mohit Mohan Saxena

Course: CMBA 2Y2
Student ID: 20150357
Subject: Understanding Behavioural Elements of Marketing (MBA7001)
Module Leader: Professor Sushant Nanda

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 INDEX

S. No. Contents Page No.

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1. Introduction

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2. Tri – component Model

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3. Sigmund Freud’s Theory

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4. Maslow’s Theory

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5. Howard Sheth Model

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6. Bibliography

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 Purchasing Behaviour for Home Audio Equipment

Introduction

Music sets our foot, mood and even holds the energy to turn a bad
day into a good one. Home Audio equipment’s are the new necessity which
every household is putting their hands on. The home audio equipment segment
has a large variety ranging from CD/DVD players, MP3 Players and compact
audio systems.

With the advancement of the technology and change in the lifestyle, consumers
are preferring for their comfort and choosing more feasible entertainment
solutions. Home audio/theatre equipment are the trendsetters which showed that
there is a great penetration scope which can be achieved by understanding the
specifications and consumer attitude towards buying the specific product. The
home audio equipment market is estimated to experience growth with uplifting
trend and popularity of audio technologies in the youth. A shift in the preference
of consumers towards high performance home theatre system and the rising
need for better user experience are positively influencing the market growth.

Thus, it is interesting to understand the consumer attitude towards buying the

product and look at the factors that affects the purchasing behaviour or an urge
of a consumer to upgrade to the product. Consumer behaviour is the basic
understanding before making any product available for the consumers or to
innovate and improvise.

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 Consumer Attitude (tri-component model) for Home Audio
Equipment:

“All three-attitude components maintain a relatively stable

and balanced relationship to one another. (I.E.Boone, 2004) maintain that
together these components form an overall attitude an individual has about an
object or idea. (Hawkins, 2001) also argue that all three-attitude components
tend to be consistent. This means that a change in one attitude component tends
to produce related changes in the other components. According to the principle
of cognitive consistency cited in (M.R.Solomon, 2002), consumer’s value
harmony among their thoughts, feelings and behaviours; and they are motivated
to maintain uniformity among these elements”.
The prospect customer segment for Home Audio Equipment is the youth, the
customers who are living in the urban areas and are also who are updated with
the trends. People are willing to enhance their standard of living for which
people are exploring all the appliances and technology available in the market.
In addition to that people are fond of movies, series and songs and products like
Home Audio Equipment enhances the experience and help in building the
sensations.
Home Audio Equipment falls under “Limited problem solving” commodities.
In this category customers already have some knowledge regarding the products
and their alternatives but still continue to search for more information.
Under such situations brand names are very important keeping aside the factor
of purchasing involvement with the customer. In-store promotions and centre
displays should be followed to create an attraction for the customer. Also, in
various mega stores like Reliance, Chroma, etc. separate cabins are formed to
provide the customers real time experience of Audio Equipment’s which
influence them for a purchase. Any such entertainment product which can
provide the peace of mind to the customer and also alludes the sentiments; helps
in developing the excitement and interest for the product.
The Cognitive Component - can be altered by promoting and highlighting the
existing positive belief about the product (Grosshart, 1987) . In some cases,
even the product has to be altered or upgraded to showcase the physical change
in the product. The approach to the customer’s belief structure can be changed
by making the product to solve their multiple problems.
For e.g.: Adding multiple features in audio equipment.

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The Affective Component - can be altered by following the three basic
approaches of:
Classical Conditioning: In this approach, something trendy or which
audience like is consistently paired with the brand (Grossman, 1998) .
Affect toward the Ad: Advertisements by the celebrities or attractive
jingles tend to create a high-involvement process with the potential
customers (K.G.Seluch, 1995) .
More Exposure: This approach simply follows multiple advertisements in
a repetition which results in increase liking of the brand and subsequent
purchase of the products (S.A.Hawkins, 2001) .
For e.g. Sony roped in actor Farhan Akhtar for a marketing campaign to bring
more eyeballs during the UEFA Champions League football tournament.

The Behavioural Component – can be altered by following the operant

conditioning. It delivers the message that the purchase of the product will be
rewarding. Impulse buying behaviour is induced during these coupons, free
samples and promotional activities.
For e.g. Extra woofers or mini speakers are presented with the Home Audio
Equipment.

Influence of personality on buying behaviour on the Home Audio

Equipment

“Personality is defined by Schiffman (2008) as that the unique dynamic

organization of characteristics of a particular person, physical and psychological,
which influence behaviour and responses to the social and physical environment.
It seems that consumer purchases are always influenced by their personality as
many marketers thought. Therefore, many marketers make use of personality
traits into the advertisement of products. However, some experts highlighted that
the influence of personality related to the heredity and the experience of early
childhood. Meanwhile, other experts stressed that personality also changed in the
various environmental influences from different periods”.
Consumers with the traits of relaxed, cheerful, fun loving, party freaks and who
love to socialize are probably the one who love the experience of Home Audio
Equipment. People associated with arts are also the prime users of such product.

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 Sigmund Freud’s theory

The theory of Freud is regarded as the cornerstone of the modern psychology.

He based his theory on certain assumptions one of which says, the socialization
activity that people possess has a huge impact on the behaviour of the
individuals. The music industry and the entertainment world play a major role
in make Audio/Video products a hit that everybody wants to have them at their
households, pockets or in their hands. People feel so much connected to the
music or the movie that they want to experience it anytime they wish to. Home
being the most comfortable place for any human being is also the reason why
people spends their money to have a set up where they can relax, enjoy and
experience their favourites.

According to Freud’s theory, the human psychology is structured into three

parts, i.e. id (Immediate Gratification), Ego and Superego. These three forces
are the combined reasons which develop individual’s feelings, thoughts and
behaviour.

ID (Immediate Gratification) – ID is all about the immediate pleasure

fulfilment. The unique or luxury can be used to motivate the customers
to purchase Home Audio Equipment. The sense or feeling of all the
comforts at one place.

Ego – Ego is the state which makes us think we are different and better
than others. Having a full home theatre experience at your living room is
not what everybody has and thus, it gives the feeling of uniqueness.

Super Ego – Super Ego controls the behaviour of human beings. Such
people tend to have highly matured purchase related decisions. The
promotional strategies should focus on making the customers realize that
having such product will definitely change the experience at your home.
Also, such products certainly have a long life thus, have worth to the
purchase.

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 Maslow’s Theory

The Eternal hierarchy of Maslow’s illustrate that people have the desires to be
Self – Actualized. Maslow has wisely differentiated five levels on the basis of
Food, Safety, Love, Self- Esteem and Self-Actualization (Tanner, 2012) .
The top of the pyramid has the most complex needs while the bottom of the
pyramid has the most basic needs. Once a person accomplishes the basic needs
of food, water, shelter and sleep they move on to next level of Safety and Security.
As people get better, they will to have Psychological needs and Social needs.
Moving further the needs of Self-Esteem take priority; which end towards the
importance of Self-Actualization, the process of personal development and
achieving the individual potential (Tanner, 2012) .

Figure 1 Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Home Audio Equipment provide the service of comfort, entertainment and it

increases the standard of living of the user.
Taking into consideration the impact of Motivation on the Home Audio
Equipment, the product is not into the consideration for someone struggling.
Moving towards to the Safety needs, the product does not fit well even in this

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level. Now when we move towards the third level of Love and belongingness our
product can find an introductory phase. The target group for the Home Audio
Equipment officially initiates in the third level. Moving forward to the level of
Esteem, the product fits perfectly in this level. The product itself possess the
qualities to raise the standard of living and thus it boasts the esteem of the
consumer. The feel and presence of the equipment is a different experience which
also uplifts the entertainment and fun factor.
Self – Actualization is the level at which Home Audio Equipment can be seen as
the soothing factor. As the user is self-aware and reaching heights, the product
will be providing the well-deserved services.

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 Howard Sheth Model

“The Howard Sheth theory of buyer behaviour is a sophisticated integration of

the various social, psychological and marketing influences on consumer choice
into a coherent sequence of information processing. It aims not only to explain
consumer behaviour in terms of cognitive functioning but to provide an
empirically testable depiction of such behaviour and its outcomes (Howard,
1977) ”

Figure 2 Howard Sheth Model

There are three levels of decision making:

1. Extensive problem solving – “Early stages of decision making in which
the buyer has little information about brands and has not yet developed well
defined and structured criteria to choose among products”.
2. Limited problem solving – “This is a more advance stage; choice criteria
are well defined but the buyer is still undecided about which set of the brands
will best serve them. Thus, the consumer still experiences uncertainty about the
best brand”.
3. Routinized response behaviour – “Buyers have well defined choice
criteria and also have strong predispositions toward the brand. Little confusion
exists in the consumer's mind and they are ready to purchase a particular brand
with little evaluation of alternatives”.
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The four major components:
The Input Variables – “The input variables consist of informational cues
about the attributes of a product or brand (i.e. Quality, price,
distinctiveness, service and availability). This informational cue may be
significative if they influence the consumer directly through the brand's
attributes or symbol if they derive from the same factors as they are
portrayed in the mass media and by salespeople, influencing the
consumer in an indirect way. These two sources are commercial, in which
they represent the efforts of the firm to build and project these values in
the product. A third set of informational cues may come from the buyer's
social environment, including the family, reference groups and social
class - which are influences that are internalized by the consumer before
which can affect the decision process”.
Brands like Sony and Bose have that brand image and customer trust that their
new products and innovative ideas easily catch customer’s interests and
attention. Sony also connects through their advertisements and create an urge to
feel the experience that they provide.

Hypothetical Constructs – “Hypothetical constructs have been

classified in two groups - perceptual constructs and learning constructs.
The first deals with the individual perceive and responds to the
information from the input variables, accounting for stimulus ambiguity
and perceptual bias. The second deals with the stages from the buyer
motives to his satisfaction in a buying situation. The purchase intention is
an outcome of the interplay of buyer motives, choice criteria, brand
comprehension, resultant brand attitude and the confidence associated
with the purchase decision. The motives are general or specific goals
impelling to action, impinging upon the buyer intention are also the
attitudes about the existing brand alternatives in the buyer's evoked set,
which result in an arrangement of an order of preference regarding
brands. Brand comprehension and the degree of confidence that the buyer
has about it, choice criteria and buying intentions, converge upon the
intention to buy”.

Output Variables – “The five output variables in the right-hand portion

of the model are buyer's observable responses to stimulus inputs. They
are arranged in order from Attention to Actual Purchase. The purchase is

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 the actual, overt act of buying and is the sequential result of the attention
(buyers total response to information intake), the brand comprehension,
brand attitude ( referring to the evaluation of satisfying potential of the
brand) and the buyer intention ( a verbal statement made in the light of
the above externalizing factors that the preferred brand will be bought the
next time the buying is necessitated”.
Home Audio Equipment easily seeks the attention of the customer. To deal with
the competitors they need to create a specific brand experience or brand image.

Exogenous Variables – “The model also includes some exogenous

variables which are not defined but are taken as constant. These influence
all or some of the constructs explained above and through them, the
output. Some exogenous variables are importance of the purchase, time at
the disposal of the buyer, personality traits, financial status etc.”

The Home Audio Equipment as discussed earlier falls under the Limited
Problem-Solving criteria. Thus, the brands should be able to discriminate their
product from the competitors and should have a competitive advantage to boost
the customer’s interest.

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Bibliography
Grosshart. (1987). Influence of Brand Commitment and Claim Strategy on Consumer Attitudes.

Grossman, R. (1998). The Persistence of Classifaclly conditioned Bran Attitudes .

Hawkins. (2001). Consumer Bhavior :Building Marketing Strategy.

Howard. (1977).

I.E.Boone, D. (2004). Contemporary Marketing.

K.G.Seluch. (1995). Cognitive and Affective Components of Aab in a Low Motivation Procesing Set.

M.R.Solomon. (2002). Consumer Behavior : Buying, Having and Being.

Rolex.in. (n.d.).

Rolex.org. (n.d.). Rolex. Retrieved from Rolex.

S.A.Hawkins. (2001). Low Inolvement Learning. Journal of Consumer Research.

Tanner, J. (2012). Marketing Principles.

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