http://www.mecglobal.

com/strategies-for-a-new-consumer-age

Consumer Behaviour Lecture 1: Consumer Behaviour and the Self

Course
http://sedb.com/future_ready/future_ready_today/articles/understanding_the.html?cmpid=branding_cpc_uk_google_ASIAN%20CONSUMERS

http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_solomon_conbeh_4/154/39637/10147114.cw/index.html

Outline
http://www.brandchannel.com/start.asp?fa_id=283

CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR Disciplinary contributions to the study of consumers (re) defining consumer behaviour The bigger picture consumers, customers and business New directions PERSONALITY Freudian Psychoanalysis The neo-Freudians Trait theory Temperament sorter SELF CONCEPT self image/product image products as extended self empirical research on self and brand choice Postmodern self body,self and culture

Homo Economicus?
Consumers do not strictly obey the principles of economic rationality as commonly defined Consumers do not, however, behave in a random manner and their behaviour cannot be adequately described by stochastic models Consumer behaviour stems from innate and acquired needs and involves a complex combination of conscious and unconscious processes as well as rational and emotional factors

Examples of primary contributions from various disciplines to the study of consumer behaviour (from Holbrook 1995)

Value in

Acquisition
Aggregate spending Product purchase Brand choice

Usage

Disposition

macroeconomics microeconomics psychology sociology anthropology philosophy humanities

Reasoned action, cons. misbehaviour

Role playing Leisure activities Gift giving, garbology Shopping experience Rituals, ceremonies, traditions, collections, consumption, symbolism, semiotics Appreciative reactions emotions, intrinsic value Durability, collecting, nostalgia

Entertainment Aesthetics, stories, and the arts, imagery, metaphor leisure activities

http://mtq.sagepub.com/content/vol9/issue3/images/data/373/DC1/MTQ341628_supplemental_data.mp3

Defining consumer behaviour

the study of the processes involved when individuals and groups select, purchase, use or dispose of products, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy needs and desires (Solomon et al 2009) consumer behaviour is the dynamic interaction of affect, cognition, behaviour, and environmental; events by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives (AMA in Peter and Olsen 1994)

The domain of consumer behaviour

Arnould et al 2004

The food provisioning process

acquisition

preparation

cooking disposal eating

Buying Units

individuals families/households committees

Pragmatic coping:
People in France, Netherlands and the UK are questioning the value of everything they buy. French consumers see the recession as part of a never-ending crisis, following on from post-Euro inflation which had already undermined individual spending power. The Dutch also feel they are in a game of Russian roulette.

Disorientation:
People in Italy and Portugal feel powerless against the recession and believe that it is having a profound impact on their social system, values and identity. They are attempting to simplify their lives by focusing on family (Italy) and community (Portugal). There is more anxiety and apprehension in these countries and a backlash against a materialistic and consumerist society.

Stand-by mode:
Consumers in the Czech Republic, Germany and Romania are pessimistic but trying to avoid making major changes to their consumption habits or living standards. They still want to treat themselves now and again but may buy smaller quantities of quality items or more products and promotions. Czech and Romanian people are more likely to stick to trustworthy brands whereas Germans are more open to trying new brands. Mindful of the uncertain future, there is a stronger focus on career and work in both Germany and Romania.

Future focused:
Consumers in Poland, Spain and Turkey are positive about the future but in different ways. Poland is the only country in Europe where people are likely to increase spending in the next 12 months and see the recession as an opportunity to invest or implement life changes. In Spain and Turkey there is a realisation that the party is over; here the crisis is an opportunity to cut down on unnecessary spending. All three markets are exhibiting a 'We can make it together' attitude.

Reduced political support for regulation Incidentalist pricing with multiple price points Saving will not seem particularly worthwhile Those groups financially untroubled by recession will continue to demand premium experiences Desire for luxury and indulgence will not abate but may switch categories Renting and trading in secondary goods may rise Poor pensions will undermine the appeal of retirement Source: warc

http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=88852&Tab=A

The bigger picture: economy and the recession

http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=89910&Tab=A

On-line
http://news.bbc.co.uk/nolavconsole/ukfs_news/hi/bb_wm_fs.stm?news=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbram=1&bbwm=1&nol_storyid=6179897

UK internet retail sales estimated to reach 81bn 2011. There are now over 51 million UK internet users and 37 million UK on-line shoppers. An average on-line spend was 1333 (2010). .Internet household penetration is 73% and clothing, footwear and accessories are the top 3 sectors http://www.imrg.org Facebook has become the second most visited web site in the UK after Google, according to a report from Hitwise UK. The social networking site now attracts 7.51% of all UK internet visits. http://www.hitwise.com/uk/data centre/main/dashboard7323.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11034030

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4595556.stm

Cyberspace and consumer freedom

Consumer freedoms are plenty in cyberspace. In a cyber store, there are no behavioral norms that one normally encounters in a regular store. In the privacy of ones living room, what takes place is virtual shopping, and with free abandon. In this free-est of spaces, there is no dress code, no regulation regarding food ingestion while shopping, for cyberspace ensures the personalization of the shopping environment. The consumer can wander from store to store without expending physical energy. Since time is the essence of contemporary life, the time saving is an important appeal that the consumer will appreciate. There are also other issues here. Consumer fantasies can be exploited much more effectively in cyberspace. Consumers can be lured by spectacular promises via computerized images. Objects can be fetishized, colorized, and given phantasmagoric forms. The most effective way to appeal to consumers is interactive imaging. Consumers can test products in cyberspace. Since cybermarketscape is limitless and boundless, it is also an appropriate candidate for tapping into the unbounded desires of the consumer. Cybermarketscape can turn the sovereign consumer into a desire machine. Of course, what the consumers can do is not the same as what they will actually do. It is too early to tell what the consumers will do in/with cyberspace. Some behaviors have already surfaced but their sustainability and future directions are not clear. Much will depend on what marketers will make them do. At this time we can only speculate on what the possibilities are. Venkatesh 1998 672.

Unmanageable Consumers
http://www.tnsglobal.com/_assets/files/Engaging_the_new_consumer_Esoma07.pdf

OLD CONSUMERS seek convenience synchronized less often involved conformist less well informed

NEW CONSUMERS seek authenticity individual involved independent well informed

Consumers have proven that in spite of the best efforts to constrain, control and manipulate them, they can act in ways that are unpredictable, inconsistent and contrary. (Gabriel and Lang, 2008, 334) -Environmental challenges (oil, water, land, soil, clean air, minerals) -Demographic challenges world population >6bn 21ST century, 9-19 bn by 2050 -Social and cultural forces materialism and happiness
Gabriel and lang, 2008, JCC http://joc.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/8/3/321

Lewis and Bridger, 2000

Different perspectives on consumer behaviour research

Source: Solomon et al 2006

Individual interpretative methods

Acknowledge the consumer in relation to their own culturally constructed world Recognise the importance of language, symbols and gestures in relation to life experience understand that time and space are have different meanings and are fluid and negotiable, not universal rigid concepts Recognise observations are part of a process and product of interpretation Offer rich and valuable insights and contribute to the debate regarding contemporary consumerism
From Goulding, 1999, 870

Stalking the Amphisbaena

New directions : CCT

Consumer culture theory as a family of theoretical perspectives that address the dynamic relationships between consumer actions, the marketplace, and cultural meanings p868 Consumers personal and collective identities (self) Lived worlds and marketplace culture (mass consumption) Consumer experiences, processes and ideologies (systems of meaning) Sociological categories (class, family, ethnicity) and structures that drive consumption More work on Historical and institutional forces shaping consumption Moral dilemas and consumption (commercialisation of everyday life, over consumption, inequality etc) Temporality of consumption (nostalgia and retrobranding) Globalization of consumer cultures and implications for less developed countries

Consumers!!!!
http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2009/3590

http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2009/3590

Ted Talks: Post Crisis Consumer John Gerzema

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/john_gerzema_the_post_crisis_consumer.html

Personality (and music)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7598549.stm

Personality (reflects)

the relatively stable organization of a persons motivational dispositions arising from the interaction between biological drives and the social and physical environment (Eysenck 1975) the basic notion that individuals differ from one another in systematic and stable patterns of behaviour and attitude - is both intuitively appealing and very familiar to most observers (Foxall and Goldsmith)

unique characteristics that account for individual differences consistency of an individuals disposition elements of behavioural tendency multidimensionality

Freudian Psychoanalysis

Id, the psychic powerhouse, a lawless mob of instinctual urges, demands release; the superego, the harsh unbending moralist, demands total inhibition of these urges; the ego, the rational decision-maker has to try to keep the peace between these two forces and to take into account the demands of external reality(Freud) id (unconscious drives) ego (conscious rational thinking) superego (unconscious, morals)

Neo-Freudian psychoanalysis

Karen Horney (neo-Freudian) compliant (seeking love, affection, approval) detached (seeking independence, self-reliance) aggressive (seeking power, ability to manipulate) Cohen
CAD traits and consumption

Carl Jung extroversion-introversion

Trait Theory

EDWARDS PERSONAL PREERENCE SCHEDULE achievement deference exhibitionism autonomy affiliation intraception dominance abasement change aggression heterosexuality

THURSTONE TEMPERMENT SCHEDULE active vigorous impulsive dominant stable sociable reflective
used in Westfall 1962

Keirsey Temperament Sorter

Carl Jung extroversion- introversion personality as character (configuration of habits) temperament (configuration of inclinations) Guardian (SJ) Artisans (SP) Idealists (NF) Rationalists (NT) to carry out your own personality test see http://www.keirsey.com

4 DIMENSIONS Extrovert Introvert iNntuition Sensing Thinking Feeling Judgement - Perception

The 4 Temperaments

http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=1&c=overview

Consumer Choice, Marketing & Personality

EQUIVOCAL need to
study patterns of behaviour rather than single decision focus on consumption rather than general needs develop personality related topics
physiological differences self concept

Self Concept

the individual as perceived by him or herself in a socially determined frame of reference inner private/outer public based on self attribution (ones behaviour) reflected appraisal (views of others) social comparison (to significant others) psychological centrality (hierarchical) (Rosenberg 1979)

Sirgys Concepts of Self

actual self image ideal self image social self image ideal social self image

self concept motives

self esteem - the tendency to seek experiences that enhance self concept self consistency - the tendency of an individual to behave consistently with her view

Sirgys self image/product image

(product:self) positive self-congruity (++) positive self incongruity (+ -) negative self congruity (- -) negative self incongruity (- +) Esteem approach approach avoidance avoidance Consistency approach avoidance approach avoidance

Self Concept

is of value to the individual and, and behavior will be directed towards the protection and enhancement of self-concept the purchase, display and use of goods communicates symbolic meaning to the individual and to others the consuming behaviour of an individual will be directed towards enhancing self-concept through the consumption of goods as symbols

(a) our bodies; (b) our values and character; (c) our success and competence, (d) our social roles, (e) our traits (f) our possessions

The things we own define us for two reasons: (1) We spend our life with them; they virtually surround us; so we begin to see ourselves as part of those things that surround us, and not as part of things that surround someone else; and (2) We use things to bring out our inner I for display so others may see us for who we are (Eckhardt and Houston, 1998; Dolfsma, 2004). Mittal JCR 2006

The extended self

Mittal JCR 2006

Products as the Extended Self

self image congruence models greater the brand/self image congruence the more the brand is preferred (visibility, variability in use, personalised) owners ratings of themselves consistent with product ratings aspirational products multiple selves symbolic interactionism looking glass self the extended self (Belk) incorporation of products (Falk) treasured possessions levels of extended self individual, family, community, group

Product Constellations and the Self

Diderot unity - collective stereotype of owner and group of products/brands a 'diderot unity that define and describe cultural categories (Diderot (1713-1784) the French philosopher being the first documenter of such groupings). - McCracken (1988) Consumption constellations (Solomon and Buchanan 1991). "clusters of symbolic, complementary products, specific brands and /consumption activities used by consumers to define, communicate and enact social roles" (Assael 1987:191, ).

http://www.polity.co.uk/book.asp?ref=9780745644035

Body Image and Self

Changing gender roles body image ideals of beauty changing bodies (diet, exercise, mutilation) to separate group members place individual in social organisation gender categorization sex role identification desired social conduct high status or rank sense of security

Postmodern Self

Giddens - dilema of the self fragmentation, powerlessness, uncertainty commodification leading to personal meaningless Existence of multiple selves created via advertising and consumption (idea of ritual as meaning transfer after McCracken) consumption as a way to access the desired self (Belk) brands as resources for the symbolic construction of self via mediated meaning derived from marketing communication negotiated through lived experiences of purchase and usage Postmodernism and the empty self Person object person Degrees of selfness Identity conflict and demarcating, compromising and synthesizing solutions (Ahuvia)

Weblinks

http://wps.pearsoned.co.uk/ema_uk_he_solomon_conbeh_4/154/39637/1014711 4.cw/index.html http://www.mecglobal.com/strategies-for-a-new-consumer-age http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=89910&Tab=A http://www.warc.com/ArticleCenter/Default.asp?CType=A&AID=88852&Tab=A http://www.imrg.org http://www.hitwise.com/uk/datacentre/main/dashboard-7323.html http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11034030 http://joc.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/8/3/321 http://www.llbean.com/customerService/aboutLLBean/background.html#VALUES http://www.effie.org/winners/showcase/2009/3590 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7598549.stm http://www.keirsey.com http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=1&c=overview

EXERCISE: take the test

http://www.keirsey.com
Log onto the website, register and take the personality test. You can view the mini statement to get your personality type.