The influence of the age variable in the consumer behavior

Résumé du document

This essay is going to focus on the 'age' variable. Marketers can segment their marketing in age subcultures, or support, its members who have shared childhood and young adulthood experiences that influence their customs, rituals, and behavioural processes. People of the same generation will have undergone similar experiences, and will therefore share memories and values. They will be influenced by similar internal and external stimuli in their behaviour. Here, the influence of the various stimuli will be analysed relating to consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour is the process involved when individuals or groups select, use or dispose off products, and services to satisfy their needs and desires. Internal and external influences affect this process. Models of consumer behaviour, such as Howard and Sheth (Oliver, 1986), recognise their importance in consumer decision making and to its output, which may be to buy or not to buy, or to search for more information. It is important for marketers to understand the strengths of these influences, in order to manipulate them to translate people's general needs in wants for their particular brand. The attention will be placed on two particular cohorts: children and mature adults. Although consumers can be externally influenced by many stimuli, such as friends, reference groups, the environment, religion, culture and income; and internally by factors such as learning, memory, attitudes, beliefs and self perception; here the focus will be placed on the role and impact of parents, peers and advertising as sources of external influences; on motivation, needs and perception, the external influences. Finally, the implication of these differences for marketing policy will be analyzed, specifically in relation to advertising and the retailing environment.

Extraits

[...] The knowledge one already has, his or her memories are thus relevant in all stages of perception. For children, what is most relevant is visual memory. McNeal and Ji (2003) observe how, through their packaging, RTE cereals can become familiar objects to the child; and how colours and pictures become communication tools to convey the meanings of the brand. These are nodes stored in the child's memory and associated with the brand name; they can serve as retrieval cues when the child is searching for alternatives. He/she will evaluate only those alternatives whose stimuli are perceived. [...]

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[...] Some of them are engaged in voluntary work, or continue their job. They love to shop. And have the means to do it. They have in fact more discretionary income than younger consumers, as they do not have children at home and do not have university fees nor mortgages to pay. According to Solomon et al.(2002), they mainly spend on holidays, cars, home improvements, cosmetic surgery, health and finance services. Peer influence is usually important in affecting consumer behaviour. This, however, seems to be less true for the mature consumer. [...]

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