FACTORS INFLUENCING CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR ON HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS IN NIGERIA
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Consumer behavior is a relatively new discipline; the first books were published in the 1960s, but its intellectual forefathers are much older. Understanding consumers and the consumption process has a number of advantages. These advantages include assisting managers in decision making and providing marketing research with a theoretical foundation from which to analyze consumers in order to make better purchase decisions.
Consumer research can help us learn more about the psychological, sociological, and economic factors that influence human behavior. A general understanding of consumer behavior has personal value as well. It can assist people in becoming better consumers by informing them of how they and others conduct their consumption activities. Furthermore, it can aid consumers in the purchasing process by informing them.
They should be informed about some of the marketing strategies used by businesses (Foxall & Goldsmith, 1994).
Consumer behavior studies why people make certain purchasing decisions, what products and services they buy, where they buy them, how they use them, how frequently they buy them, and how the consumer decision process works. Consumer behavior has been defined in this context as the activities of people who engage in actual or potential use of market items—whether products, services, retail environments, or ideas (Berkman & Gilson, 1978).
Word of mouth is an important method of disseminating information. Word of mouth, both positive and negative, can have a significant impact on consumer behavior. When used correctly, it can help a lot.
Promote products or services and create a perception that can last for a long time and have a negative impact on marketing. As a result, the impact of word of mouth can be both negative and positive (Solomon, 1996). Progress in Word-of-Mouth Marketing aligns advertising campaign messaging and product releases with local market influencers, Trendsetters, and Tastemakers to shape public opinion and purchase behavior.
An effective word-of-mouth marketing campaign connects with Influencers and Trendsetters who initiate consumer trends (for example, fashion trends, automobile purchase trends, consumer product trends, entertainment trends, and beverage consumption trends) that are followed by mainstream consumers. Consumers place twice as much value on word-of-mouth as they do on advertising. In a world where we are all
When we are bombarded with advertising all day (and night), what is the first thing we usually do to learn more about a business, such as a restaurant? We look for someone we know who has been there, or who knows someone who has been there. That is correct. Word-of-mouth has more credibility than advertisers can even imagine, let alone conjure. Even so, word of mouth suffers from the same quality that makes it so powerful. It is personal and thus has a limited reach (Pusateri, 1999).
Managers must understand consumer behavior in order for their companies to achieve commercial success. The link between consumer behavior and marketing strategy is emphasized because the success of companies’ marketing strategies is dependent on managers’ understanding of consumer behavior.
Consumer behavior (understanding consumer behavior is especially important during a recession, as Kotler and Caslione demonstrate) (2009). Consumer purchasing decisions reveal how well a company’s marketing strategy matches market demand. Marketing thus begins and ends with the consumer.
Customer behavior research is based on consumer purchasing behavior, with the customer playing three distinct roles: user, payer, and buyer. Consumer behavior is difficult to predict, according to research, even for experts in the field (Armstrong & Scott, 1991). Consumer behavior refers to the psychological processes that consumers go through when they recognize their needs, seek ways to meet those needs, make purchase decisions (e.g., whether to purchase a product and, if so, which brand and where), interpret information, make plans, and carry out those plans (e.g., by purchasing a product).
Comparing prices or purchasing a product).
Consumer purchasing behavior refers to the selection, purchase, and consumption of goods and services in order to satisfy their desires. Consumer behavior involves numerous processes. Many factors, specificities, and characteristics influence the individual in what he is and the consumer in his decision making process, shopping habits, purchasing behavior, the brands he buys, or the retailers he visits. Each of these factors influences a purchase decision. Initially, the consumer attempts to identify which commodities he wishes to consume, and then he selects only those commodities that promise greater utility.
After selecting the commodities, the consumer estimates the amount of money he has available to spend.
Finally, the consumer analyzes the current commodity prices and decides which commodities he should consume. Meanwhile, other factors such as social, cultural, economic, personal, and psychological influences influence consumer purchases.
Consumer behavior research seeks to comprehend both the individual and collective decision-making processes of buyers. It investigates individual consumer characteristics such as demographics and behavioral variables in order to comprehend people’s desires. Consumer behavior research allows for better understanding and forecasting of not only the subject of purchases, but also purchasing motives and frequency of purchases (Schiffman & Kanuk, 2007).
One of the current fundamental assumptions in consumer behavior research is that people often buy products based on their subjectively perceived values rather than their primary functions (Stávková, Stejskal, & Toufarova, 2010).
This is not to say that the products’ basic functions are unimportant, but that a product’s contemporary role is more than its basic use-value (Solomon, 2004). Consumers frequently rate products not on the basis of their core attributes (i.e., the primary utility they provide), but rather on the basis of the so-called real product (i.e., the qualities of a specific product) and the extended product, which represents the set of intangible factors that confer a desired perceived advantage on the consumer – including image, consultancy, and after-sale service (Foret & Procházka, 2007).
The majority of developed countries have met their goals by relying on domestic production as well as government campaigns encouraging the use of local goods. The intensity with which local products are consumed The extent of ethnocentrism has a significant impact (Sciffman & Kanuk 2007). As a result, the focus of this study is on the factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior on household products in Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The research problem can be stated as determining the best and most appropriate marketing strategy to be used by organizations producing household products in order to increase local consumption of their locally made products.
Nigeria is one of the developing countries in Africa that imports a large amount of products from other countries each year, including alcoholic beverages. Many Nigerians have developed a preference for both domestic and foreign products as a result of this. Because of the wide range of goods and services available in other countries, many consumers prefer to buy imported goods. However, many local industries are struggling to survive in today’s volatile Nigerian market.
As more businesses consider the benefits of expanding into Africa, the need to understand the
The African consumer is becoming more important (Hatch, Becker & van Zyl, 2011). However, there has currently been very little research conducted on the factors that influence consumer decision-making in Africa.
When compared to companies in developed countries, it is assumed that African companies are less mature in their analysis and assessment of their consumer base. Maturity in this context is defined as having advanced to the point of understanding the required consumer and consumer base. Companies are not mature primarily due to their inherent composition, as well as the consumers they serve. Much of Africa’s markets are also immature, with most purchases taking place in open markets. It is estimated that about 80% of total In Nigeria, one of Africa’s largest economies, consumer purchases take place in open markets (CNBC Africa, 2014). These issues highlight the need for a study on the factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior on household products in Nigeria.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The overall goal of this study is to investigate the factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior on household products in Nigeria. Among the specific goals are the following:
1. Determine consumer attitudes toward purchasing household products in Nigeria.
2. Determine whether social factors influence consumer purchasing behavior for household products in Nigeria.
3. To investigate the socioeconomic factors influencing consumer purchasing behavior in Nigeria for household products.
4. To learn about the influence of psychological factors on consumer purchasing behavior for household products in Nigeria.
5. Determine whether cultural factors influence consumer purchasing behavior for household products in Nigeria.