External influences in consumer behavior


External influences in consumer behavior

Environmental Factors Affecting Consumer buying Behaviour The environmental factors affecting consumer buying behaviour are explained below Cultural Influences It is defined as a complex sum total of knowledge, belief, traditions, customs, art, moral law or any other habit acquired by people as members of society.

Our consumer behaviour, that is the things we buy are influenced by our background or culture. Different emphasis is given by different cultures for the buying, use, and disposing of products.

People in South India have a certain style of consumption of food, clothing, savings, etc. This differs from the people in the North of India. Different cultures and habits are predominant in different parts of the world. Therefore, in consumer behaviour culture plays a very important part.

Sub-cultural Influences Within a culture, there are many groups or segments of people with distinct customs, traditions and behaviour.

Consumer behaviour - Wikipedia

In the Indian culture itself, we have many subcultures, the culture of the South, the North, East and the West. Hindu culture, Muslim culture, Hindus of the South differ in culture from the Hindus of the North and so on.

Products are designed to suit a target group of customers which have similar cultural background and are homogeneous in many respects.

External influences in consumer behavior

Social Class By social class we refer to the group of people who share equal positions in a society. Social class is defined by parameters like income, education, occupation, etc.

Within a social class, people share the same values and beliefs and tend to purchase similar kinds of products. Their choice of residence, type of holiday, entertainment, leisure all seem to be alike. The knowledge of social class and their consumer behaviour is of great value to a marketeer.

Social Group Influences A group is a collection of individuals who share some consumer relationship, attitudes and have the same interest. Such groups are prevalent in societies. These groups could be primary where interaction takes place frequently and, consists of family groups.

These groups have a lot of interaction amongst themselves and are well knit. Secondary groups are a collection of individuals where relationship is more formal and less personal in nature.

These could be political groups, work group and study groups, service organisations like the Lions, Rotary, etc. The behaviour of a group is influenced by other member of the group.

An individual can be a member of various groups and can have varied influences by different members of groups in his consumption behaviour. An individual can be an executive in a company, can be a member of a political party. He may be a member of a service organisation and of entertainment clubs and study circles.


These exert different influences on his consumption.Consumer behaviour and decision making is anything but straight-forward, and is increasingly influenced by complex internal and external factors beyond what retailers can control simply through clever marketing and advertising.

External Influences: Culture Posted on by admin Consumer purchasing decisions are often affected by factors that are outside of their control but have direct or indirect impact on . Economic Conditions. The current state of economic conditions has a direct impact on buyers.

While, in certain cases, a consumer’s financial status is controllable (i.e., able to control wasteful spending), in other instances what the consumer has available for spending is affected by economic factors that are beyond their control.

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External influences – Introduction What are external influences in consumer behavior? a. What a consumer eats, wears, and believes are all learned and influenced by the culture they live in, their family, childhood and social environment.

All of these are external factors that affect purchases. Besides the internal factors, external factors also Influence consumer behavior. These factors are not individualistic,and are external to the individual. These factors include culture, subculture, social class, reference group and family influences.

In this concern, the most substantial help for marketers can be done by going through the process of consumer behaviour and identifying specific internal and external influences on consumers (Schiffman, ).

5 Common Factors Influencing Consumer Behavior