Role of Family in consumer decision making

Vijay B100

Why is it Important ?

Influential in consumption decisions

Influential in purchase decisions

Make several joint purchase decisions

Prime target market for goods and services

It helps to devise our marketing strategies

Family Lifecycle (FLC)

• The family life cycle concept attempts to explain consumer behaviour patterns of individuals as they age, marry, have children and retire

Changes Over Life-Cycle

financial situation Product categories

considered interests primary decision maker Free time

Family Life-cycle bachelor newly married, no kids young couple, kids < 6 young couple, kids >6 old couple working retired widow - working, not working

Role Behavior

Individual roles in family purchases

• Initiator: initiator of family thinking about buying products and gathering information to aid decisions

• Influencer: individual whose opinions are sought concerning criteria and which products or brands most likely to fit those criteria

• Decider: person with the financial authority or power to choose how the family’s money will be spent on which products and brands

• Buyer: person who acts as the purchasing agent by visiting the store, calling suppliers, writing checks, bringing products into the home and so on

• User: person or persons who use the product

Buying a car!!

Identifying different purchaser-consumer relationships

• Who’s buying for whom?

• Who are the principal characters?

• What’s the plot for the purchase?

• What can we assume?

Changing Roles of Women

Marketing to Women

• Appealing to the “mother” category

• Different segments exist and they look at advertising, the Internet, products, time, and brands differently

• Depending on career orientation, responsibilities in and out of the home, time pressures, messages, and ads need to be adapted

• Retailers can appeal to women with special services or extended hours

Example!!Nivea For Men targeted women in a campaign to persuade them of the benefits of buying male grooming products for their partners. The company organized a six-month campaign targeting over 42,000 women with the purpose of educating them about their partners' skincare habits and handing out samples. Results? 55% purchased at least one Nivea For Men product, and 20% purchased two or more products. 58% of men recommended the product to their friends and family. 

Changing Masculine Roles

• Roles of men in families are changing substantially as well

• Men are more involved in family functions and household activities

• Men may buy items traditionally purchased by women (groceries)

• Many men are achieving gender role transcendence and use products previously seen as “feminine”

Children and Household Consumer Behavior

Children and Household Consumer Behavior

• Children change dramatically how the family functions, in terms of relationships, employment, and purchases

• Children reduce parents’ participation in the labor force, change how families spend their money and reduce the amount of time and money available for leisure

• Children influence about $1.88 trillion of purchases globally each year

• Children exert direct influence over parental spending when they request specific products and brands

• They exert indirect influence when parents buy products and brands that they know children prefer without being asked or told to make a specific purchase

Advertising and children

• Children’s TV watching Behavior :• Children ages 2-11 watch an average of

22 hours of TV per week and see 30,000 commercials per year• 80% of all advertising targeted to children falls in four product

categories: Toys, cereal, candy & fast food restaurants

Changing trends in youth

Recent trends

Online shopping :

Shop 14/7 Comfort of own home A lot of strokes within a click away Comparison made easier Discounts Payments made Easier

Other Trends

• Celebrity influence

Other Trends

• Quality oriented outlet

Other Trends

• Eco friendly products

THANK YOU