Editing Consumer behaviour (section)

==Influences on purchase decision==
Purchasing is influenced by a wide range of internal and external factors.

=== Consumer awareness ===
''Consumer awareness'' refers to the awareness of the consumption of goods bought by consumers in the long-term shopping environment and purchasing activities.<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.adgo.io/blog/how-to-create-a-customer-journey-map-from-awareness-to-conversion| title=How to Create A Customer Journey Map: From Awareness To Conversion| work=Adgo| access-date=2018-10-19| language=en-US| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116001132/https://www.adgo.io/blog/how-to-create-a-customer-journey-map-from-awareness-to-conversion| archive-date=2018-11-16}}</ref>

The change of life concept is the subjective factor of the change of consumer awareness. As people's living standards and incomes continue to increase, people's life concepts are constantly changing.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Woodside| first1=Arch| last2=Wilson| first2=Elizabeth| date=1985-01-01| title=Effects of consumer awareness of brand advertising on preference| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291901160| journal=Journal of Advertising Research| volume=25| pages=41–48}}</ref>  Differences in consumer personality are the internal motivations for changes in consumer awareness.

Intensified market competition is a catalyst for changes in consumer awareness. Many companies have launched their own branded products in order to gain a foothold in an increasingly competitive market.<ref name=":2" /> In the face of a variety of goods and brands, consumers' brand awareness matures. When people buy goods, paying attention to the brand has become a fashion. Faced with the severe competition situation, companies began to realize the importance of implementing brand strategy, and began to focus on market research, and on this basis, deeply grasp the consumer's psychological pulse to improve market share and brand loyalty.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal | last1=Lokhande| first1=Murlidhar| date=2006-05-05| title=Consumer Awareness – A Case Study of Jalna City| url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267429905| journal=Indian Journal of Marketing| volume=xxxvi| pages=23–28}}</ref>
With the change of people's life concept, consumers' rational consumption psychology has become increasingly prominent. Social Marketing,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.thensmc.com/content/what-social-marketing-1| title=What is social marketing? {{!}} The NSMC| website=www.thensmc.com| language=en| access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref> Customised Marketing,<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/custom-marketing.html| title=What is custom marketing? definition and meaning| website=BusinessDictionary.com| language=en| access-date=2018-11-09| archive-date=2018-11-09| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109153112/http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/custom-marketing.html}}</ref> brand-name shopping,<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.business.com/articles/boost-online-brand-awareness/| title=Boost Awareness of Your Business's Brand| work=business.com| access-date=2018-10-19}}</ref> and the consumer's perception of the price of the commodity (directly expressed as the consumer's sensitivity to price) are all main factors for understanding consumer attitudes, and help explain the reaction of market demand to price changes.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.research-pmr.com/a41/product-price-awareness-among-consumers-and-price-testing| title=Product price awareness among consumers and price testing| website=www.research-pmr.com| language=en| access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref>

=== Internal influences on purchase decision ===
{{See also|Market segmentation}}

Internal influences refer to both personal and interpersonal factors. Social theory suggests that individuals have both a ''personal identity'' and a ''social identity''. Personal identity consists of unique personal characteristics such as skills and capabilities, interests, and hobbies. Social identity consists of the individual's perception of the central groups to which an individual belongs and may refer to an age group, a lifestyle group, religious group, educational group, or some other reference group. Social psychologists have established that the need to belong is one of the fundamental human needs.<ref>Bhattacharya, C.B., Hayagreeva, R and Glynn, M.A., "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/1252327 Understanding the Bond of Identification: An Investigation of Its Correlates among Art Museum Members]", ''Journal of Marketing,'' Vol. 59, No. 4 (Oct., 1995),  DOI: 10.2307/1252327, pp. 46-57</ref> Purchasing [[behaviour]] is therefore influenced by a broad range of internal factors such as psychological, socio-economic, demographic and personality factors. [[Demographic]] factors include income level, [[psychographics]] (lifestyles), age, occupation, and socioeconomic status. Personality factors include knowledge, attitudes, personal values, [[belief]]s, emotions, and feelings. Psychological factors include an individual's [[motivation]], [[Attitude (psychology)|attitudes]], personal values, and beliefs. Social identity factors include culture, sub-culture, and reference groups.  Other factors that may affect the purchase decision include the [[Social environment|environment]] and the consumer's prior experience with the category or brand.

====Motivations and emotions====
[[File:Vegetarian diet.jpg|thumb|left|Maslow's hierarchy suggests that people seek to satisfy basic needs such as food and shelter before higher order needs become meaningful.]]

The consumer's underlying motivation drives consumer action, including the information search and purchase decision. The consumer's attitude to a brand (or brand preference) is described as a link between the brand and a purchase motivation.<ref>Rossiter, J and Bellman, S., ''Marketing Communications: Theory and Applications,'' Pearson Australia, 2005, pp 103-120</ref> These motivations may be negative (to avoid pain or unpleasantness) or positive (to achieve some type of reward such as sensory gratification).<ref name="acrwebsite.org">Rossiter, J.R. and Percy, L., "[http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/7146/volumes/v18/NA-18 Emotions and Motivations in Advertising]", in ''Advances in Consumer Research,'' Vol. 18, Rebecca H. Holman and Michael R. Solomon (eds), Provo, UT, Association for Consumer Research, 1991, pp 100-110</ref>

One approach to understanding motivations was developed by [[Abraham Maslow]]. [[Maslow's hierarchy of needs]] is based on five levels of needs, organised accordingly to the level of importance.

Maslow's five needs are:<ref name=":1" />
;Physiological: basic levels of needs such as food, water, and sleep
;Safety:  the need for physical safety, shelter, and security
;Belonging: the need for love, friendship, and also a desire for group acceptance
;Esteem: The need for status, recognition, and self-respect
;Self-actualisation: The desire for self-fulfillment (e.g. personal growth, artistic expression)

Physiological needs and safety needs are the so-called lower order needs. Consumers typically use most of their resources (time, energy, and finances) attempting to satisfy these lower order needs before the higher order needs of belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation become meaningful. Part of any marketing program requires an understanding of which motives drive given product choices. Marketing communications can illustrate how a product or brand fulfills these needs.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=Consumer Behaviour: Implications for marketing strategy |author=Quester, P. G. |author2=Neal, C. M. |author3=Pettigrew, S. |display-authors=etal |publisher=McGraw-Hill Irwin|year=2008|location=Sydney}}</ref> Maslow's approach is a generalised model for understanding human motivations in a wide variety of contexts, but is not specific to purchasing decisions.

[[File:Pain Relievers at Kroger.JPG|thumb|A decision to purchase an analgesic preparation is motivated by the desire to avoid pain (negative motivation).]]

[[File:Dairy Queen Blizzard.jpg|thumb|A decision to buy an ice-cream sundae is motivated by the desire for sensory gratification (positive motivation).]]

Another approach proposes eight ''purchase'' motivations, five negative motives and three positive motives, which energise purchase decisions as illustrated in the table below.<ref name="acrwebsite.org"/> These motivations are believed to provide positive reinforcement or negative reinforcement.<ref>Pham, M. T. and Higgins, E.T., "Promotion and Prevention in Consumer
Decision Making: The State of the Art and Theoretical Propositions", in S. Ratneshwar and [[David Glen Mick]], (eds), ''Inside Consumption: Consumer Motives, Goals, and Desires'', London: Routledge, 2005, pp 8-43.
</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Rossiter and Percy's Purchase Motivations & Emotions
|-
! Motivation
! Emotional Sequence
|-
| '''NEGATIVE'''
|
|-
| Problem removal
| Annoyance → Relief
|-
| Problem avoidance
| Fear → Relaxation
|-
| Incomplete satisfaction
| Disappointment → Optimism
|-
| Mixed approach avoidance
| Conflict → Peace-of-mind
|-
| Normal depletion
| Mild annoyance → Convenience
|-
| '''POSITIVE'''
|
|-
| Sensory gratification
| Dull (or neutral) → Sensory anticipation
|-
| Intellectual simulation
| Bored (or neutral) → Excited
|-
| Social approval/conformity
| Apprehensive (or ashamed) → Flattered/proud
|}

In the marketing literature, the consumer's motivation to search for information and engage in the purchase decision process is sometimes known as ''involvement''.<ref>Clarke, K. and Belk. R.W., "The Effects of Product Involvement and Task Definition on Anticipated Consumer Effort", in ''Advances in Consumer Research,'' Vol. 06, William L. Wilkie (ed.), Ann Abor, MI: Association for Consumer Research, pp 313–318, Online: http://acrwebsite.org/volumes/9220/volumes/v06/NA-06</ref> Consumer involvement has been defined as "the personal relevance or importance of a message [or a decision]".<ref>McInnis, D.J. and Jaworski, B.J., "Two Routes to Persuasion Models in Advertising: Review, Critique and Research Directions", in Valarie A. Zeithaml (ed), ''Review of Marketing 1990'', Marketing Classics Press (AMA), 2011, pp 3-42</ref> Purchase decisions are classified as '''low involvement''' when consumers experience only a small psycho-social loss in the event that they make a poor decision. On the other hand, a purchase decision is classified as '''high involvement''' when psycho-social risks are perceived to be relatively high.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Percy |first1=Larry |last2=Rossiter |first2=John R. |title=A model of brand awareness and brand attitude advertising strategies |journal=Psychology and Marketing |date=July 1992 |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=263–274 |doi=10.1002/mar.4220090402 }}</ref> The consumer's level of involvement is dependent on a number of factors including perceived risk of negative consequences in the event of a poor decision, the social visibility of the product, and the consumer's prior experience with the product category.<ref>Lamb, C.W., Hair, J.F. and McDaniel, C.,  ''Essentials of Marketing,'' Mason, Ohio, South-Western Cengage, 2009, p. 174</ref>

====Perception====
Part of marketing strategy is to ascertain how consumers gain knowledge and use information from external sources. The perception process is where individuals receive, organise, and interpret information in order to attribute some meaning. Perception involves three distinct processes: sensing information, selecting information, and interpreting information. Sensation is also part of the perception process, and it is linked direct with responses from the senses creating some reaction towards the brand name, advertising, and packaging. The process of perception is uniquely individual and may depend on a combination of internal and external factors such as experiences, expectations, needs, and the momentary set.

When exposed to a stimulus, consumers may respond in entirely different ways due to individual perceptual processes.<ref name=":1" /> A number of processes potentially support or interfere with perception. ''Selective exposure'' occurs when consumers decide whether to be exposed to information inputs. ''Selective attention'' occurs when consumers focus on some messages to the exclusion of others.  ''Selective comprehension'' is where the consumer interprets information in a manner that is consistent with their own beliefs. ''Selective retention'' occurs when consumers remember some information while rapidly forgetting other information.<ref>Trehan, M and Trehan, E., ''Advertising and Sales Management,'' New Delhi, VK Enterprises, p. 165</ref> Collectively the processes of selective exposure, attention, comprehension, and retention lead individual consumers to favor certain messages over others. The way that consumers combine information inputs to arrive at a purchase decision is known as ''integration''.<ref>{{cite book|author1=[[Lynn R. Kahle]] |author2=Pierre Valette-Florence |title=Marketplace Lifestyles in an Age of Social Media|year=2012|location=New York|publisher=M.E. Sharpe, Inc.|isbn=978-0-7656-2561-8}}</ref>

Marketers are interested in consumer perceptions of brands, packaging, product formulations, labeling, and pricing. Of special interest is the ''threshold of perception'' (also known as the ''just noticeable difference'') in a stimulus. For example, how much should a marketer lower a price before consumers recognise it as a bargain?<ref>Kardes, F., Cronley, M. and Cline, T., ''Consumer Behavior,'' Mason, OH, South-Western Cengage, 2011 p.329</ref> In addition, marketers planning to enter global markets need to be aware of cultural differences in perception.<ref>Weber, E.U., and Hsee, C., "[https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/mygsb/faculty/research/pubfiles/12855/Weber_CrossCultural_Differences.pdf Cross-cultural Differences in Risk Perception, but Cross-cultural Similarities in Attitudes Towards Perceived Risk]", ''Management Science,'' Vol. 44, no. 9, 1998, pp 1205- 1217</ref> For example, westerners associate the colour white with purity, cleanliness, and hygiene, but in eastern countries white is often associated with mourning and death. Accordingly, white packaging would be an inappropriate colour choice for food labels on products to be marketed in Asia.

==== Symbolic Consumer Behaviour ====
Symbolic consumption becomes the internal influence of consumer behaviour and forms a special symbol. Consumption symbols can be used to explain the consumer as a group member or a unique individual.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoyer |first1=Wayne |last2=Deborah |first2=MacInnes |last3=Pieters |first3=Rik |title=Consumer behavior |date=2018 |publisher=Cengage |location=Australia |isbn=9781337514804 |page=431 |edition=7th |url=https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=6351273&ppg=449}}</ref> Consumer consumption behaviour is not only material and psychological consumption.
Symbolic consumption has two meanings:
1. A symbol of consumption. Consumption expresses and transmits a certain meaning and message. The meaning derived from culture enables us to use products to symbolise our membership in various social groups.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoyer |first1=Wayne |last2=Deborah |first2=MacInnes |last3=Pieters |first3=Rik |title=Consumer behavior |date=2018 |publisher=Cengage |location=Australia |isbn=9781337514804 |page=432 |edition=7th |url=https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=6351273&ppg=449}}</ref> This symbolic consumption is the process of social expression and social communication.
2. Symbolic consumption: People consume not only the commodities themselves but also certain cultural and social significance symbolised or represented by them, including mood, beauty, grade, status, status, atmosphere, style, emotional appeal, etc. Symbolic consumption is typically reflected in brand consumption. Brand has three functions for consumers: functional value, symbolic value and experience value. Take luxury brands: The power of luxury brands is more than just their ability to convey identity. Some consumers want to make an impression. Luxury goods used to be the daily routine of the aristocracy, but after the concept of modern social class was blurred, consumers still regarded it as a ticket to enter the upper class. Consumers evaluate a brand based on how it aligns with our identity, which helps define and maintain our self-concept.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoyer |first1=Wayne |last2=Deborah |first2=MacInnes |last3=Pieters |first3=Rik |title=Consumer behavior |date=2018 |publisher=Cengage |location=Australia |isbn=9781337514804 |page=439 |edition=7th |url=https://public.ebookcentral.proquest.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=6351273&ppg=449}}</ref> As a symbol of noble status, wealth and success, it has become a consumer identity and status symbol.

==== Prior experience ====
The consumer's prior experience with the category, product, or brand can have a major bearing on purchase decision-making. Experienced consumers (also called experts) are more sophisticated consumers; they tend to be more skillful information searchers, canvass a broader range of information sources, and use complex heuristics to evaluate purchase options.  Novice consumers, on the other hand, are less efficient information searchers and tend to perceive higher levels of purchase risk on account of their unfamiliarity with the brand or category. When consumers have prior experience, they have less motivation to search for information and spend less effort on information search but can process new information more efficiently.<ref>Carroll, C.E., ''The Handbook of Communication and Corporate Reputation'', Chichester, Sussex, Wiley, 2013, p. 44</ref> One study, for example, found that as consumer experience increases, consumers consider a wider range of purchase alternatives (that is, they generate a larger consideration set, but only at the product category level).<ref>Johnson, M.D. and Lehmann, D.R., "[http://www.acrwebsite.org/search/view-conference-proceedings.aspx?Id=7885 Consumer Experience and Consideration Sets For Brands and Product Categories]", in ''Advances in Consumer Research'', Vol. 24, 1992, Merrie Brucks and Deborah J. MacInnis (eds), Provo, UT : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 295-300.</ref>

==== Random factor ====
Random factors refer to special occasions and a series of random conditions consumers have when purchasing. Sometimes, consumer purchase decisions are made in unexpected circumstances, or a situation will delay or shorten people's decision-making process. Research has found that in waiting for scenarios where consumers are ubiquitous, seemingly unrelated physical cues, such as area carpets or queue guidelines, can act as virtual boundaries that alter consumers' initial decisions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Reisch |first1=Lucia A. |last2=Zhao |first2=Min |title=Behavioural economics, consumer behaviour and consumer policy: state of the art |date=November 2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=199 |language=en}}</ref>

===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.

=== Influences on consumer purchasing behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic ===

Evidence shows that certain consumer purchasing behaviours rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cxm.co.uk/cxm-resource/covid-19-consumer-behaviour-research/| title=COVID 19 Consumer Behaviour Research| website=cxm.co.uk| language=en| access-date=2020-02-10}}</ref> as result of external and internal factors. Namely, behaviours such as compulsive buying, impulsive buying, [[panic buying]], and revenge buying – where panic buying and revenge buying were most noticeable – proved as a coping strategy for alleviating consumers' negative responses to the pandemic.<ref name="Samuel Lins">Samuel Lins, Sibele Aquino, Ana Raquel Costa (14 March 2021) 'From panic to revenge: Compensatory buying behaviours during the pandemic', International Journal of Psychiatry.</ref>

Panic buying occurs when consumers purchase more things than usual as a consequence of adverse feelings of fear, anxiety and uncertainty surrounding a crisis or disruptive event.<ref>Cambridge Dictionary, Cambridge University Press (2020), accessed 23 April 2021 from: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/panic-buying.</ref> Such purchases tend to be excessive in relation to the perceived threat.<ref name="Steven Taylor">Steven Taylor (March 2021) 'Understanding and managing pandemic-related panic buying' Journal of Anxiety Disorders 78.</ref> During the pandemic, panic buying of necessities, such as food and hygiene products, increased across the globe.<ref name="Samuel Lins" /> Consider, in particular, that Australia faced an unprecedented spike in toilet paper sales, prompting comments from its Prime Minister.<ref>ABC News Video Services (26 June 2020) 'VIDEO: Prime Minister Scott Morrison says there is no need for panic buying' ABC News, accessed 23 April 2021 from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-26/prime-minister-scott-morrison-says-no-need-for-panic-buying/12398700; Zona Black (3 June 2020) 'Panic buying: Australians top global charts for toilet paper stockpiling' The New Daily, accessed 23 April 2021 from: https://thenewdaily.com.au/finance/consumer/2020/06/03/panic-buy-australia-why/; BBC News Services (26 June 2020) 'Australia caps toilet rolls sales after panic-buying' BBC News, accessed 23 April 2021 from: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53196525.</ref> Panic buying – in response to an irrational fear of scarcity of products and heightened urgency to procure coveted items – provided a sense of control for consumers during the pandemic, notwithstanding a loss of control to the social, professional and health environments around them.<ref name="Steven Taylor" />

In addition to panic buying throughout the pandemic, revenge buying was apparent during periods when non-essential stores reopened after COVID-19-related lockdowns.<ref name="Samuel Lins" /> Revenge buying was specifically observed in physical luxury retail stores.<ref name="Samuel Lins" /> For example, it was reported that an Hermes store in Guangzhou, China, made US$2.7 million in the first day it opened after lockdown, where consumers' purchases ranged from leather goods, scarves and homewares to a diamond-studded Birkin bag, among other things.<ref>Tianwei Zhang (13 April 2020) 'Hermes hauled in $2.7 million in one China store on Saturday: sources' Women's Wear Daily, accessed on 23 April 2021 from: https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/hermes-hauled-in-2-7-million-in-one-china-store-on-saturday-sources-1203559738/. See also: Shalini Nagarajan (16 April 2020) 'French luxury brand Hermes pulls in US$2.7 million in a day at a flagship store in China as wealthy shoppers splurge after the coronavirus lockdown' Business Insider Australia, accessed on 23 April 2021 from: https://www.businessinsider.com/wealthy-chinese-shoppers-slurge-at-hermes-store-in-china-2020-4?r=US&IR=T; Robert Williams, Jinshan Hong (12 March 2020) 'Revenge spending spurs Chinese luxury rebound from virus' Bloomberg, accessed on 23 April 2021 from: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-12/luxury-shoppers-in-china-emerge-from-quarantine-to-buy-again.</ref>

The purchase of luxury products – where 'luxury' is defined as high quality, expensive and non-necessary<ref>Caroline Tynan, Sally McKechnie, Celine Chhuon (1 August 2009) 'Co-creating value for luxury brands' Journal of Business and Research 63 (2010) 1156 - 1163.</ref> – is associated with positive emotions, often to compensate for negative feelings.<ref>Sonny Nwankwo, Nicolas Hamelin, Meryem Khaled (5 May 2014) Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 21 (2004) 735 - 744.</ref> Namely, revenge buying of luxury products provided an emotional release and a sense of belonging, esteem, and self-actualisation during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which people were frustrated and psychologically discomforted.<ref>Jun-Hwa-Cheah, David Waller, Park Thaichon, Hiram Ting, Xin-Jean Lim 'Price image and the Sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention' (5 June 2020) Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 57 (2020) 102188.</ref> Such purchases can be said to have achieved sensory gratification as well as problem avoidance for consumers.<ref name="Samuel Lins" />

It is clear that consumers sought to obtain internal happiness through consumption as a response to external health crises and social distancing measures.<ref>Selin Atalay, Margaret Meloy (2 May 2011) 'Retail therapy: a strategic effort to improve mood' Psychology and Marketing 28(6), 638 - 660.</ref> Both panic buying and revenge buying were compensatory in nature and therapeutic in nature – an attempt for consumers to control an external situation that was out of their internal control, as well as provide comfort, security, and improvement of well-being.<ref name="Samuel Lins" />

Due to the environmental trends, people begin to shop online more to avoid physical stores and stay contactless. Customers will spend more on sportswear than on professional dressing in 2020, and technology products related to teleworking, such as Zoom, also have more consumers than before.<ref name="doi.org">{{Cite journal |last1=Kannan |first1=P.K. |last2=Kulkarni |first2=Gauri |date=2021-01-01 |title=The impact of Covid-19 on customer journeys: implications for interactive marketing |journal=Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=22–36 |doi=10.1108/JRIM-03-2021-0078 |s2cid=239635412 |issn=2040-7122}}</ref>

Besides, studies have suggested that after the pandemic, people's awareness of environmental hazards and society's responsibility to save the planet increased, so societies changed their shopping behavior during the pandemic. People will choose sustainable products even though they cost more. In addition, stores and brands can adopt sustainable marketing to build a new brand image to attract customers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Timotius |first1=Elkana |last2=Octavius |first2=Gilbert Sterling |date=2021 |title=Global Changing of Consumer Behavior to Retail Distribution due to Pandemic of COVID-19: A Systematic Review |url=http://koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202131659492624.page |journal=Journal of Distribution Science |volume=19 |issue=11 |pages=69–80 |doi=10.15722/jds.19.11.202111.69 |issn=1738-3110}}</ref>

Kannan and Kulkarni also illustrate some phenomena led by the channel migration caused by COVID-19. The first phenomenon is that customers are more open-minded to trying new brands and products because of the limitation of online channels of certain brands; the second phenomenon is that the long time pandemic restrictions make customers who use online channels as substitutes for their offline purchases initially now those customers have learned how to effectively use online channels for their daily lives.<ref name="doi.org"/>