Purchasing Habits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Purchasing Habits - Essay Example The next stage determining the consumers buying behaviour is the actual situation of the consumer which either puts him/her in a position to acquire certain products which are dependent on social, economical or technical positions. Factors under this group include the following factors. (Kennedy 2007) Natural- this determines whether the actual nature of the individual has an effect on his/her consumption. For example, a vegetarian would not be interested in the purchase of meat even if all the other factors are in favour of the purchase. (Kennedy 2007) Cultural- the culture of a place either encourages consumption of certain products or bans consumption of certain goods. This has an effect on the buying behaviour of these individuals as it determines what they go for in the market. (Kennedy 2007) Technological- the technological environment also has considerable effects on what individuals buy or do not buy. This is because people may either want to remain with their ancient technology or would want to go for new technology. This will influence what individuals actually go for at particular times and periods. (Kennedy 2007) The next tire in a consumer's buying behaviour results from the consumer himself and includes those characteristics inherent to him/her. These include individual's attitudes, knowledge about the goods, the lifestyle of the particular consumer, personality, perceptions and motivation (Kennedy 2007). Having looked at the environmental and individual characteristics that determine consumer buying behaviour, it is now time to examine the actual buying process which I defined in terms of stages. This stage defines the consumers buying decision process and is a six stage process. These include: Step one-Problem recognition This is the first step in actual determination of a need by the consumer. A consumer will first have to recognize what he/she needs and is missing; this, leads to ones awareness that he/she need to acquire a particular good. The recognition of what really one needs is the starting point of the consumers buying behaviour. From sitehttp://www.udel.edu/alex/chapt6.html Step Two-Information Search This involves the search for information on the goods that the consumer may need. The consumer may acquire this information from several sources which include friends or the product manufacturers. The product manufacturers make this information available through their advertising, or product promotion campaigns. This is readily available if the consumer has the required media. Information is also available through friends or relatives. The information