Consumer behaviour is an attempt to understand & predict human actions in the buying role.

It has assumed growing importance under market-oriented or customer oriented marketing planning & management. Consumer behaviour is defined as All psychological, social & physical behaviour of potential customers as they become aware of, evaluate, purchase, consume, & tell others about product & services.

Each element in this definition is important. Consumer behaviour involves both individual (psychological) processes & group (social processes). Consumer behavior is reflected from awareness right through post-purchase evaluation indicating satisfaction or non-satisfaction, from purchases

Consumer behaviour includes communication, purchasing & consumption behaviour Consumer behaviour is basically social in nature. Hence social environment plays an important role in shaping buyer behaviour.
Consumer behaviour includes both consumer & business buyer behaviour

In consumer behaviour we consider not only why, how, & what people buy but other factors such as where , how often, and under what conditions the purchase is made. An understanding of the buyer behaviour is essential in marketing planning & programmes. In the final analysis buyer behaviour is one of the most important keys to successful marketing.

(2) Size and Income of the Family : The size and income of the family determine the amount of expenditure and saving both. The larger tie size and income of a family, the greater will be its consumption expenditure. Conversely, the smaller the size and income of a family, the smaller will be its consumption expenditure. It follows, therefore, that the changes in family's income affect the buyer behaviour in respect of purchases.

(3) Expectation of Income: If buyers expect their income to increase, they will spend more out of their current income. They will be inclined to purchase comforts of life such as furniture, scooters, TV sets, refrigerators, electrical appliances etc. In short, expectation of increase or decrease in future income directly affects the current purchases.

(4) Credit Facility: If goods can be purchased on credit, consumption expenditure tends to rise. The consumer credit in the form of hire purchase and instalment payments has played an important role in expanding the markets especially for durable consumption goods. The commercial banks also offer loans to the consumers for the purchase of refrigerators, TV sets, grinders etc. In India, the banks' contribution in promoting the purchase of motor trucks through the provision of loans for this purpose is also remarkable. The motor truck manufacturing companies like Telco and Ashok Leyland had to face a serious crisis when banks stopped granting loans for this purpose.

The motor truck manufacturing companies like Telco and Ashok Leyland had to face a serious crisis when banks stopped granting loans for this purpose.
(5) Discretionary Income : The buyers give first priority to basic necessities of life. Then the amount of money left as surplus is used for the purchase of comforts and luxuries. The expenditure on luxuries is incurred mainly to make a show of one's wealth.

CULTURAL FACTORS: Cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on consumer behavior. The roles played by the buyers culture, sub culture and social class are particularly important. (1) CULTURE- Culture is the most fundamental determinant of a persons wants and behavior. The growing child acquires a set of values, perceptions, preferences, and behavior through his or hr family or other key institutions.

(2) SUB-CULTURESub-culture includes nationalities, religions, racial groups, and geographical regions. Many sub-cultures make up important market segments, and marketers often design marketing programs tailored to their needs.

(3) SOCIAL CLASSSocial classes are relatively homogenous and enduring divisions in a society, which are hierarchically ordered and whose members share similar values, interests, and behavior. Social classes do not reflect income alone but also other indicators such as occupation, education, and area of residence.

(4) Comfortable Life : In modern times, the tendency is towards seeking a more comfortable life. People like to buy grand bunglows modern furniture and entertainment etc. Urban people are now more conscious of civilized life, while rural population is also influenced by urban way of living. There has been an increasing demand for products which make human life comfortable.

(5) Changes in Family Life : Some revolutionary changes have been witnessed in the family life since last few years. The joint family system is gradually declining and small families are coming up. People are becoming more and more conscious of the need for family planning and certain products to meet this new awareness are in demand now.

(6) Change in the Role of Women : The literacy ratio among female is increasing in India. As a result of the introduction of the scheme of free education for girls in most of the states in India, the ratio of girl students in the field of higher education is also moving up. The educated women prefer now to take up jobs, and consequently, the demand for time saving home appliances like washing machines, cookers, electric grinders etc.

is increasing fast now-a-days. Moreover, the working women use liberally cosmestics and modern style clothing and prefer bicycle, moped and scooters etc. These products are also in heavy demand now.
(7) Increase in Leisure Time : The number of hours of work per week are on the decline. On the acceptance of the five working days a week proposal by the Central Government of India, more liesure time is available to the employees, therefore, they are now more inclined towards club recreation, television and V.C.R.. tours and journeys, games and visits to the friends and relatives etc.

Hence there has been an increase in the demand for fast foods, sports wares, entertainment, movies, television sets, books and magazines, newspapers and drinks etc.

SOCIAL FACTORS (1) REFERNCE GROUPSA Persons reference groups consist of all the groups that have a direct or indirect influence on the persons attitudes or behavior. Groups having direct influence on a person are called membership groups.

(2) FAMILYThe family is the most important consumer buying organization in society, and has been researched extensively. Family members constitute the most influential primary reference group.

(3) SOCIAL GROUPS : The society is made up of different groups of people. The classification of people into different groups can be on the basis of castes, each group having different customs and traditions. While devising a marketing strategy, the marketing manager has to keep in mind the social classes and their distinct characteristics. On the basis of economic condition, a society can be divided into following groups:

 Upper-most Class : This is a small class of the extremely rich persons who are economically most powerful. They have inherited wealth and have a wel-known family background. They are the heads of large industrial houses. They provide a good market for expensive jewellery, modern furniture, antiques etc. This group serves as a reference group for others to the extent their life style is imitated by other social classes.

Upper

Class: It consists of small businessmenandprofessionals Many of them have earned high income or wealth through exceptional ability in business and profession; and thereby move up from the middle class to upper class. Their life-style is also distinct. They seek to buy symbols of status such as expensive homes, motor cars, precious furniture, crockery etc. and prefer to send their children to the finest school. Their pattern of consumption is aimed at impressing those below them.

Upper Middle Class:

It includes those who want to live a comfortable life. They have attained positions as highly educated and professional persons such as doctors, pleaders, engineers, college professors, administrators, government officials and independent businessmen also. They are interested in buying good homes, best furniture, fine clothes and better quality products. They insist on quality more than quantity.

Lower Middle Class:

It consists of office workers, small business owners etc. They are fixed income group people and economical. The> prefer to buy conventional home furnishing, clothes which are neat and clean. They attach more importance to price than quality.

Poor Class: They are the persons whose income is uncertain and inadequate to make both ends meet. In India almost 70 per cent of the population is poor. Their housing is substandard, and their choice is lov. -priced necessities of life. They are highly price conscious. They provide a large market to small companies and firms. They are of course interested in good quality but income being low, they cannot afford it. Hence if they are convinced that products, though low priced, are good in quality, their behaviour can be influenced favourably.

Roles and Status:

Individuals participate throughout life in many groups such as family, clubs and organisations. An individual has a definite status and role in each group. In the family, he enjoys a status of a father, son, brother or husband. In a firm or a company, he holds the status of a manager, official or employee. In a club, he plays the role of a secretary, chairman or treasurer. This role or status also affects his buying behaviour

(4) ROLE AND STATUSA persons position in each group that he participates throughout his life family, clubs, and organizations can be defined in terms of role and status. A role consist of activities that a person is expected to perform. Each role carries a status. Marketers are aware of the status symbol potential of products and brands.

PERSONAL FACTORS A buyers decisions are also influenced by personal characteristics. (1) AGE & STAGE IN THE LIFE CYCLEPeople buy different goods & services over their lifetime. They eat baby food in the early years, most foods in the growing & mature years & special diets in the later years. Peoples taste in clothes, furniture & recreation is also age related.

(2) OCCUPATION-

A persons occupation also influences his or her consumption pattern. Marketers try to identify the occupational groups that have above average interest in their products and services. A company can even specialize its products for certain occupational groups.

(3) ECONOMIC CIRCUMCTANCESProduct choices are greatly affected by ones economic circumstances. Economic stability consist of their spend able income (its level, stability andtime pattern), saving and assets (including the percentage that is liquid), debts , borrowing power, attitude toward spending versus saving.

(4) LIFESTYLEPeople coming from the same subculture, social class & occupation may lead quite different lifestyles. A persons lifestyles the persons pattern of living in the world as expressed in the persons activities, interests & opinions. (5) PERSONALITY AND SELF-CONCEPTEach person has a distinct personality that influences his or her buying behavior.

By personality, we mean a persons distinguishing psychological characteristics that lead to relatively consistent and enduring responses to his or her environment. Personality can be a useful variable in analyzing consumer behavior, provided that personality type can be classified accurately and that strong correlations exist between certain personality types and product or brand choices.

PHYSCHOLOGICAL FACTORA persons buying choices are influenced by four major psychological factors-motivations, perception, learning, beliefs and attitudes. (1) MOTIVATIONA person has many needs at any given time. A need becomes motive when it is aroused to a sufficient level of intensity. Motivational researchers hold that each product is capable of arousing a unique set of motive in consumers.

(2) LEARNING-

When people act they learn. Learning involves changes in an individuals behavior arising from experience. Learning theory teaches marketers that they can build up demand for a product by associating it with strong drives, using motivating cues and providing positive reinforcement.

(3) PERCEPTION- Perception is the process by which an individual selects, organizes, & interprets information inputs to create a meaningful picture of the world. A motivated person is ready to act. How the motivated person actually acts is influenced by his or her perception of the situation. (4) BELIEFS & ATTITUDES- A belief is a descriptive thought that a person holds about something. Through doing & learning, people acquire beliefs & attitudes. These in turn influence their buying behavior.

Particularly important to global marketers is the fact that buyers often hold distinct disbeliefs about brands or products based on their country of origin. An attitude is persons enduring favorable or unfavorable evaluations, emotional feelings, and action tendencies towards some object or idea. People have attitude toward almost everything: religion, politics, clothes, music, food, and so on. Attitude put them into a frame of mind of liking or disliking an object, moving toward or away from it.