Editing Consumer behaviour (section)

===External influences on purchase decision===

Purchasing behaviour can also be affected by external influences, such as [[culture]], [[sub-culture]], [[social class]], [[reference group]]s, [[family]], and situational determinants.

====Culture====
[[File:535-Skate in A Coruña.jpg|thumb|People with shared interests, such as skaters and bladers, tend to form informal groups known as subcultures.]]
[[Culture]] is the broadest and most abstract of the external factors. [[Culture]] refers to the complexity of learning meanings, values, norms, and customs shared by members of a society. Cultural norms are relatively stable over time, so culture has a major effect on consumer behaviour. Research studies have consistently shown that culture influences almost every aspect of purchasing: it affects basic psychological domains such as self-identity and motivation, the way that information is processed, and the way that advertising messages are interpreted.<ref>Torelli, C.J. and Rodas, M., "Globalization, branding and multicultural consumer behavior", in ''Routledge International Handbook of Consumer Psychology,'' Cathrine V. Jansson-Boyd and Magdalena J. Zawisza (eds), Routledge, 2017, p. 41-58</ref> Additionally, perceived value and happiness are critical in shaping consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Skandali |first=Dimitra |date=2024 |title=Consumer Behaviour on AI Applications for Services: Measuring the Impact of Value- Based Adoption Model on Luxurious AI Resorts' Applications |journal=De Gruyter|volume=22 |pages=57–85 |doi=10.1515/roms-2023-0099 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

The cultural choice of consumption behaviour, the decisive external factor - the overall social and cultural atmosphere- and the decisive internal factor - the consumer's artistic quality, aesthetic pursuit, and cultural value orientation. The cultural choice of consumption must be restricted by two decisive factors inside and outside. The so-called social and cultural atmosphere is embodied in the influence of consumption atmosphere, customs and trends on consumers. For example, all kinds of money-worship consumption criticised by public opinion are the influence of vulgar culture. The so-called internal factors mainly refer to what kind of spiritual realm and value orientation consumers treat consumption, and what they show through consumption is some cultural mentality.

Marketers interested in global expansion are especially interested in understanding cross-cultural differences in purchasing and consumption. For instance, Ferrari, one of the world's top brands found that Chinese consumers are very different from their Western counterparts. Whereas consumers in the US, UK and Australia expect to wait 12 months for a custom-made Ferrari, prospective Chinese buyers want to drive the vehicle off the showroom floor. China is an 'instant-gratification market'. Buyers see their friends riding around in a luxury car and want to have the same as quickly as possible. To meet the growing demand for luxury goods, Ferrari and other luxury car makers have been forced to modify their production processes for Asian markets.<ref>Neal, D., "[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304050304577378032548853036 The Ferrari with the Dragon Tattoo]", ''Wall Street Journal'', 10 May 2012</ref>

====Subcultures====
[[File:Harley.electraglide.750pix.jpg|thumb|left|Harley-Davidson enthusiasts are an example of a consumption subculture.]]

[[Subculture]]s may be based on age, geographic, religious, racial, and ethnic differences. More often, however, a [[subculture]] occurs when people with shared interests form a loose-knit group with a distinctive identity (sometimes called ''consumer tribes''). Members of subcultures are self-selected, and signal their membership status by adopting symbols, rituals, or behaviours that are widely understood by other members of the tribe (e.g. a dress code, hairstyle or even a unique way of speaking). For example, within youth culture it is possible to identify a number of sub-groups with common interests such as skaters and bladers, surfers, ravers, punks, skin-heads, Goths, homies, and others. Generally known as communities, as they create a sense of belonging to something important.

A different type of subculture is a ''consumption subculture'' which is based on a shared commitment to a common brand or product. In other words, consumption subcultures cut across demographic, geographic, and social boundaries. The most well-known example of a consumption subculture is that of [[Harley-Davidson]] motorcycle owners. Ethnographic researchers who have studied Harley riders believe that there are only two types of motor cyclists: Harley owners and the rest.<ref>Schouten, J and Mcalexander, J.H., "Subcultures of Consumption: An Ethnography of the New Bikers", ''Journal of Consumer Research,'' vol, 22, no1, June 1995</ref> Harley-Davidson has leveraged the values of this subculture by establishing the Harley Owners Group (HOG).<ref>Bhattacharya, C. B., Rao, H. and Glynn, M.A., "Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of its Correlates among Art Museum Members", ''Journal of Marketing,'' Vol. 59, no. 4, 46-57</ref>
[[File:Goth Model.jpg|thumb|Members of the 'Goth' subculture share a dress code.]]
Subcultures are important to marketers for several reasons. Firstly, given that subcultures can represent sizeable market segments which are profitable and influential, there are obvious advantages in developing and selling products and services that meet the needs of subculture members. Secondly, and perhaps less obviously, many new fads and fashions emerge spontaneously from within these tribal groups. Trend-spotters are accordingly interested in studying the lifestyles and activities of tribes in an effort to spot new trends before they go mainstream.

====Social class====
[[Social class]] refers to relatively homogenous divisions in a society, typically based on socio-economic variables such as educational attainment, income, and occupation. [[Social class]] can be very difficult to define and measure, however marketers around the world tend to use a conventional classification which divides any given population into five socio-economic quintiles (e.g. In Australia the groups AB, C, D, E and FG, where AB is the top socio-economic quintile, but in much of Asia the quintiles are labelled I, II, III, IV and V where I is the top quintile). In Australia, for example, the AB socio-economic group account for just 24% of the population, but control 50% of discretionary spending.<ref>''The Age'', [Newspaper, Melbourne, Australia], "Bargain Basement Blues", 2 September 2002 http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/09/20/1032054962889.html. Note that while each quintile accounts for 20% of the population at the commencement of a measurement period, bracket creep can occur over time, explaining why ABs account for 24% in 2002</ref> The top quintiles (i.e. AB socio-economic segments) are of particular interest to marketers of luxury goods and services such as travel, dining-out, entertainment, luxury cars, investment or wealth management services, up-market consumer electronics, and designer labels (e.g. Louis Vuitton). However, middle-class consumers tend to consume more carefully in comparison and collect information to compare different producers in the same line. Those who are lower-class consumers tend to buy more on impulse in comparison to the wealthy class who purchases goods to maintain social status.<ref>{{cite web|last=Ramya|first=N|date=2016|title=Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316429866|website=ResearchGate}}</ref>

====Reference groups====
A [[reference group]] is defined as "a group whose presumed perspectives or values are being used by an individual as the basis for his or her judgment, opinions, and actions". Reference groups are important because they are used to guide an individual's attitudes, beliefs and values.<ref name=":2" /> Insights into how consumers acquire a given value system can be obtained from an understanding of group influence and group socialisation processes.
[[File:Family eating meal.jpg|thumb|left|The family, a primary reference group, exerts a strong influence on attitudes and behaviours.]]
The literature identifies five broad types of reference group: primary, secondary, aspirational, dissociative and formal:
: ''Primary groups'': groups, such as family, that exert a strong influence on attitudes and behaviours
: ''Secondary groups'': groups such as clubs, societies, sports teams, political parties, religions that align with a person's ideas or values, but exert a less fundamental influence on the formation of attitudes and behaviours
: ''Aspirational groups'' groups to which an individual does not currently belong, but possibly aspires to become a member because the group possesses characteristics which are admired.
: ''Disassociative reference groups'' - a group which has a negative image; individuals may disapprove of the disassociative group's values, attitudes or behaviours and may seek to distance themselves from such groups.<ref name=":0" />

''[[Opinion leadership|Opinion Leaders]]'' can act like reference groups in that they exert considerable social influence because of their product knowledge, expertise and credibility. In the marketing literature, opinion leaders are also known as influencers, mavens, and even hubs.<ref>Iyengar, R., Valente, T. and Van den Bulte, C., "[http://www.acrwebsite.org/volumes/14400/volumes/v36/NA-36 Opinion Leadership and Social Contagion in New Product Diffusion]", in '' Advances in Consumer Research'', Vol 36, eds. Ann L. McGill and Sharon Shavitt, Duluth, MN: Association for Consumer Research, pp 36-37</ref> Opinion leaders are specific to a product category, so that an opinion leader for computers is not likely to be an opinion leader for fashion. Typically, opinion leaders have high levels of involvement with the product category, are heavy users of the category, and tend to be early adopters of new technologies within the category.  Journalists, celebrities, and bloggers are good examples of an opinion leader due to their broad social networks and increased ability to influence people's decisions.<ref name=":0" /> Indeed, recent evidence suggests that bloggers may be emerging as a more important group of opinion leaders than celebrities.<ref>Paul McIntyre, "Independent bloggers overtake celebrities as key social media influencers", ''Australian Financial Review'', 22 June 2015, Online: http://www.afr.com/business/independent-bloggers-overtake-celebrities-as-key-social-media-influencers-20150528-ghbovu;  (Note that an abridged version of this article also appeared in Marketing Magazine, 16 July 2015); Blogger Outreach dethroned Celebrity Endorsement, Marketing Magazine, 16 July 2015, Online: https://www.marketingmag.com.au/hubs-c/blogger-outreach-dethroned-celebrity-endorsement</ref>

In order to leverage the value of opinion leaders in marketing strategies, it is important to be able to identify the unique opinion leaders for each category or situation and this can be very challenging. Some techniques that can be used are through key informants, socio-metric techniques and self-questionnaires.<ref>Flynn, L. R., Goldsmith, R. E. and Eastman, J. K., "Opinion leaders and opinion seekers: Two new measurement scales", ''Journal of Academy of Marketing Science'', vol. 24, no. 2, pp 137-147.</ref> More often, however, marketers use gut instinct to identify opinion leaders. For example, marketers of athletic shoes have been known to provide gym and aerobic instructors with free shoes in the hope that class members will adopt the same brand as the instructor. Marketers of cosmetics and skincare preparations regularly provide fashion editors with free samples in the hope that their products will be mentioned in fashion magazines.