Consumer Behaviour is an effort to study and understand the buying tendencies of

consumers for their end use.

Social factors play an essential role in influencing the buying

decisions of consumers.
Social Factors influencing consumer buying decision can be classified as under:
Reference Groups
Immediate Family Members
Relatives
Role in the Society
Status in the society
1. Reference Groups
Every individual has some people around who influence him/her in any
way. Reference groups comprise of people that individuals compare
themselves with. Every individual knows some people in the society who become
their idols in due course of time.
Co workers, family members, relatives, neighbours, friends, seniors at workplace often
form reference groups.
Reference groups are generally of two types:
a) Primary Group - consists of individuals one interacts with on a regular basis, it
include:
Friends
Family Members
Relatives
Co Workers
All the above influence the buying decisions of consumers due to following reasons:

They have used the product or brand earlier.

They know what the product is all about. They have complete knowledge about
the features and specifications of the product.
Tim wanted to purchase a laptop for himself. He went to the nearby store and
purchased a Dell Laptop. The reason why he purchased a Dell Laptop was
because all his friends were using the same model and were quite satisfied with
the product. We tend to pick up products our friends recommend.

b) Family factor
A married individual would show strong inclination towards buying products which
would benefit not only him but also his family members as compared to a
bachelor. Family plays an important role in influencing the buying decisions
of individuals.

A family is two or more people living together who are related by blood or marriage. It
is a part of a household which consists of individuals living singly or together with
others in a residential unit. Consumer behaviour is influenced not only by consumer
personalities and motivations, but also by the relationships within families (family is a
familiar social unit). In a family, members must satisfy their individual and shared
needs by drawing on a common and shared, relatively fixed supply of sources. The
individual family is a strong, most immediate and most pervasive influence on decisionmaking. The husband, wife and children influence each other and are influenced by
others.
A consumer who has a wife and child at home would buy for them rather than spending
on himself. An individual entering into marriage would be more interested in buying a
house, car, household items, furniture and so on. When an individual gets married and
starts a family, most of his buying decisions are taken by the entire family.
Every individual goes through the following stages and shows a different buying need in
each stage:

Bachelorhood: Purchases Alcohol, Beer, Bike, Mobile Handsets (Spends

Lavishly)
Newly Married: Tend to purchase a new house, car, household furnishings.
(Spends sensibly)
Family with Children: Purchases products to secure his as well as his familys
future.
Empty nest (Children getting married)/Retirement/Old
Age: Medicines, Health Products, and Necessary Items.

A Ford Car in the neighbourhood would prompt three more families to buy the same
model.
c) Secondary Groups - Secondary groups share indirect relationship with the
consumer. These groups are more formal and individuals do not interact with
them on a regular basis, Example - Religious Associations, Political Parties, etc.
Reference groups influence the consumer by serving as direct (face to face) or indirect
points of comparison or "reference" in building a consumer's behavior and attitudes. In
a reference group with direct influence, several individuals may be a part of the
consumer's purchase decision. The typical roles of these individuals are:
The Initiator
The Initiator is the individual that first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a
product or service.
The Influencer
The Influencer is the individual whose view or advice influences the consumer's
buying decision. This person is sometimes also referred to as the Opinion
Leader. The Influencer is usually has special skills or knowledge, personality or

other characteristics that will exert social influence on other members of the
group. The role of the Influencer or Opinion Leader has taken on a whole new
meaning and emphasis with the advent of social media platforms.
The Decider
The Decider is an individual with power and/or the financial authority to make
the choice regarding which product to buy. This is usually the consumer, but it
can also be another person.
Buyer
The Buyer is a person who conducts the buying transaction. This is also usually
the consumer, but it can be another person as well.
User
The User is the person (or persons) who will actually use the product or service
that has been bought.

It is important to note that very often consumers are influenced by reference groups that
they do not belong to. We will sometimes refer to these groups as aspirational groups.
One example of an aspirational group would be the olympic team of the consumer's
country. The consumer may aspire, due to the success of the team members, to "be like
them." This may lead them to buy many of the same products that the team members
may be endorsing, so that they can move towards their goal of acquiring many of the
same traits of those group members. Aspirational groups can exert a lot of influence
over a group of consumers, and their potential to help a marketer increase sales should
not be ignored.
d) Social Status
One aspect of social status is a consumer's economic status. Marketers take into
consideration the social class of the consumer when tailoring messaging to them. A
social class is a relatively "permanent" and ordered division in a society whose members
share similar values, interests, and behaviors. These classes have their own distinct
reference groups, and often reference groups in some classes will influence consumers
who are members of a different social class. Different social classes will tend to desire
different categories of products as part of their consumer buyer behavior. For example,
an upper middle class consumer will tend to spend more of their disposable income on
"luxury" items, whereas a consumer from middle to lower income groups will tend to
purchase items that are required for their own survival over day-to-day comfort.
e) Role in the Society
Each individual plays a dual role in the society depending on the group he
belongs to. An individual working as Chief Executive Officer with a reputed firm is also
someones husband and father at home. The buying tendency of individuals depends on
the role he plays in the society.