Consumer Behaviour and Retail Marketing Strategy Essay

Consumer Behaviour and Retail Marketing Strategy - Essay Example Consumer behaviour refers to the overall attitude, preference, intention as well as the decision made by a consumer concerning the purchase of products or services in the market. The study of consumer behaviour aims at establishing the path that consumers follow in arriving at the decision to buy or not to buy a particular product from a range of similar products available in the market (Strack, Werth & Deutsch 2006). This knowledge is very important for any marketer in formulating the marketing strategy of his products and be able to predict what will happen in the future especially in a market environment chareacterised by stiff competition. This research will first demonstrate a clear understanding of consumer buying process and then propose a retail marketing strategy based on the theories of consumer behaviour. There are various factors that influence the decision making process of consumers ranging from internal, external, individual as well as environmental. However, these factors generally fall into three major classes; sociological, behavioural and economic factors (Strack, Werth & Deutsch 2006). It is very vital for any marketer to have a good knowledge of all these determinants to be able to predict the performance of his products in the market before introduction. Therefore, the best marketing strategy will come after a good understanding of the factors that influence consumers to buy, since the marketer will then know whether his products possess the characteristics that will influence consumers to buy his products or not. This refers to the influence of the members of the family, influence from group references and leaders opinions, influence from the social class as well as the culture of the people on the buying behaviour of consumers (Moutinho 1987). It is common knowledge that in every family there is the idea of specialisation and every family