Family & Social Influences on Consumer Behavior

Nonfamily Households: Married couple, Nuclear family, Extended family Households Nonfamily Households: Unmarried couples, Friends/ Roommates, Boarders

The Family Life Cycle Traditional Family Life Cycle Stage I: Bachelorhood Stage II: Honeymooners Stage III: Parenthood Stage IV: Postparenthood Stage V: Dissolution Modifications - the Nontraditional FLC

SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOR Family Life Cycle

As You See It, What Is the Main “Family Message” of This Ad?

It Reminds Parents of the Importance of Creating “Quality Time.”

Family Types of families Changes in household spending patterns Nuclear Extended Single-parent Changes in household spending patterns There are many different types of families. The nuclear family is two parents and at least one child. If the household has at least one grandparent, it is called an extended family. In addition, there is an increasing number of single-parent households. There are changes that have an effect on spending patterns. With more women working, many households have double income. In addition, families are shopping for time-saving products and services since they have less time at home. Chapter Ten Slide

Consumer Socialization The process by which children acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to function as consumers. Parents teach their children basic values and modes of behavior. These include moral and religious principles, as well as everyday skills such as manners and speech, grooming, and interpersonal skills. Do parents teach children consumption skills? Absolutely, they learn about spending versus savings, how to shop, and how to make purchase decisions. Children today are exposed to marketing messages at a very young age, especially through television advertising and the Internet.

What Is the Name and Definition of the Process Depicted in This Ad?

Consumer Socialization - the Process by Which Children Acquire the Skills, Knowledge, Attitudes, and Experiences Necessary to Function as Consumers

Other Functions of the Family Economic well-being Emotional support Suitable family lifestyles In addition to socialization , the family provides other functions. The family provides economic security to its members, emotional support, and a way to share common goals and experiences.

Family decision making and Consumption roles Influencer Gatekeeper Decider Buyer Preparers Users Maintainers Disposer

Family Decision Making Dynamics of Husband-Wife Decision Making Husband-Dominated Wife-Dominated Expanding Role of Children In Family Decision Making Choosing restaurants and items in supermarkets Teen Internet mavens Pester power Husbands and wives often need to make decisions together. The way they balance their influence will differ as to whether it is joint, single, or dominated by one member. The balance between the husband and wife will differ from culture to culture. Furthermore, kids are very involved in family decision making. We are seeing an increase in this as kids are given more responsibility and are exposed to more media. Because kids are online so much, they are constantly finding information on products that they will share with the family. And kids don’t give up easily; when they want something they will ask many times. We say kids have pester power because they don’t give up and ask so many times.

Expanding roles of Children Pressure tactics Upward appeals Exchange Coalition Ingratiating Rational persuasion Inspirational appeal Consultation

The Family Life Cycle Traditional Family Life Cycle Stage I: Bachelorhood Stage II: Honeymooners Stage III: Parenthood Stage IV: Post parenthood Stage V: Dissolution

Social Class The division of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct status classes, so that members of each class have either higher or lower status than members of other classes. Here is a definition of social class. A description of the classes and their names will be provided in the following slide.

Social Class Measure and Distribution SOCIAL CLASSES Upper Upper-middle Middle Working Lower

Social Class Measurement Subjective Measures individuals are asked to estimate their own social-class positions Objective Measures individuals answer specific socioeconomic questions and then are categorized according to answers Researchers measure social class either by subjective or objective measures. In the subjective, people estimate their own class whereas in the objective measures, researchers use common objective measures, which are seen on the following slide.

Social Class Profile Upper-upper class Lower upper class Upper middle class Lower middle class Upper lower class Lower- lower class

Consumer Behavior and Social Class Clothing, Fashion, and Shopping The Pursuit of Leisure Saving, Spending, and Credit Social Class and Communication Social class is important to keep in mind for marketers. Consumers of different social classes purchase clothes and spend their leisure time with different activities. In addition, different social classes tend to view savings vs. spending differently and will view different television shows and visit different websites.