Consumer Behavior Essay -- Business, Supermarket

This essay is based on an analysis of our observation on consumer behaviour which took place at a supermarket. As a means of interpreting the data, the following theories and concepts would be used which are social construction, pester power and independent and interdependent self views...... Social construction PESTER POWER DEFINITION Pester power can be defined ‘as a child’s attempts to exert influence over parental purchase in a repetitive and sometimes confrontational manner’ Nicholls and Cullen (2004:77). Procter and Richards (2002:3) suggest that pester power is ‘the repeated delivery of unwanted requests’. Parents are bombarded with requests, gestures and pleas from their children to buy items like foods, toys and clothes and most often children who carry out this act get what they want (Nicholls and Cullens, 2004). Children might be influenced by either their peers at school (Smithers, 2010) or by advertisements seen on the television (Chandler and Heinzerling, 1998, Smithers, 2010). DEFINITION OF FREUDIAN PERSONALITY THEORY Freudian personality theory is otherwise known as the psychoanalytic theory and it is often used by marketers to influence the purchase decisions of customers unconsciously (Bettany, 2011 and Solomon, 2011). The Freudian personality theory is composed of three categories namely the id, the superego and the ego. The id according to Freud is part of our unconscious being as it functions with regards to the pleasure principle; the pleasure is applicable to the id as it seeks immediate gratification of needs (Bettany, 2011 and Solomon, 2011). Hoch and Loewestein (1991:498) suggest the id is the ‘primary process of thinking’ that is impulsive, stingy and illogical whose aim is to seek pleasure only,... ...essed by Lee and Karen (2000) which reports a strong correlation between ones interdependent self concept and group relationship motives for purchasing goods. Which reiterates’ beliefs that spending so much money on status signifying clothes will be detrimental to groups goals and objectives which may include feeding and other general welfare necessary in a family setting. Strong evidence found by Millan and Renolds (2011) suggests that consumers possessing a high independent disposition were more inclined to shopping activities via regular visits to clothing shops, keeping up with latest trends and information obtainable in at shops thereby spending more money on clothing than interdependent consumers, reason being that consumers with a strong independent self concept tend to satisfy wide variety of symbolic and hedonic needs through this means of consumption.