Chapter Overview

Welcome to the world of consumer behavior. We define consumer behavior as individuals or groups acquiring, using and disposing of products, services, ideas or experiences. This definition includes the search for information and actual product purchase. The study of consumer behavior includes an understanding of consumer's thoughts, feelings, and actions and an understanding of relevant marketing strategies. Topics that consumer behavior researchers study are limited only by their imaginations.

Consumer behavior includes or is related to a wide variety of human activity. Consumers in different parts of the world lead very different lives. However, they share many patterns of consumption, including brand and service loyalties, using and enjoying gifts, rituals, making choices, and purchasing products to name a few.

Consumer behavior is exciting and fun, but it is also important to you for a number of reasons. Organizations stay in business by attracting and retaining customers. However, even if you don't plan to go into business, there's a good chance that understanding consumer behavior will be an important tool in your job. Consumer behavior research is useful in any job where the mission includes satisfaction of human needs and wants. Finally, understanding consumer behavior will make you a better-informed consumer.

Consumer culture reflects a general shift in the basic emphasis of economic systems from exchange or production to consumption. The nature and dynamics of consumer behavior vary widely from place to place depending upon historical, macro-economic, and cultural factors. The production and acquisition of goods and services, their consumption, and the disposal of used goods are part of a cycle of social and economic activities that we call the circle of consumption. The processes of production, acquisition, consumption and disposal are universal, but the order in which the processes occur and the participants in the processes vary widely both within and across social systems. Much marketing attention has focused on one aspect of acquisition-- purchase decisions. However, purchase decisions are just one aspect of consumption. In recent years, managerial interest has evolved to include the full circle of consumption. We describe several links that are important for marketers to understand and manage including: disposal to acquisition, disposal to production, disposal to consumption, production to consumption, acquisition to consumption, and acquisition to disposal.