Lecture Consumer behaviour: Chapter 2 - Cathy Neal, Pascale Quester, Del Hawkins

Chapter 2 Situational Influences
• Situations influence consumer behaviour
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four main types of situations
can be categorised according to five main dimensions
implications for marketing strategy

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Topics
• The types of situational influence
• The nature of situational influence
• Dimensions of situation
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Physical
Social
Time (temporal)
Task
Antecedent

• Situational influences and marketing strategy

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Types of Situation
• Communication situation
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Where? Alone or with others? Surrounding noise?

• Purchase situation
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Where? Alone or with others? In a hurry?

• Usage situation
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With guests or alone? For pleasure or for work?

• Disposal situation
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Before the next purchase? Trade-ins?

Or after the purchase, e.g. packaging

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Consumer Behaviour is
Product–Person–Situation Specific

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The Role of Situation in Consumer Behaviour

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Five Dimensions of
Situational Influence
• Physical surroundings
• Social surroundings
• Temporal perspectives
• Task definition
• Antecedent states

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Examples of Physical Surroundings
• Store location
• Interior decor
• Music
• Smell / aromas
• Temperature (air-conditioning or heating)
• Amount of choice provided

(by product category or across the categories)

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Typology of Service Environments

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The Impact of Background Music
on Restaurant Patrons

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Impact of Physical Density on Shopper Perceptions

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Examples of Social Surroundings
• Types of customers in the store
• Queues and crowding
• Whether the consumer is likely to be known by

others/recognised
• Whether there are high-profile people/celebrities
shopping at that store
• Whether the product will be consumed privately or
in the presence of others

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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The Impact of Social Situations on Desired Dessert Attributes

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Examples of Temporal Influences
• Whether the product is seasonal
• Whether the product is urgently required

(snack between lectures)
• Time available for shopping limited/excess
(the product may be just an excuse for shopping)
• How long the previous product lasted or was
expected to last

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Examples of Task Influences
• Is the product utilitarian or used as a status

symbol?
• Is it a gift or for oneself?
• Must the product be long-lasting/tough?
(e.g. an everyday watch)
or decorative?
(e.g. a dress watch)
• Is the product intended for several uses?
(e.g. a family computer for study and internet
access)
Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Buying Factors in Gift-Giving Purchase Situations

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Examples of Antecedent States
• Moods
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Feeling sad triggers buying sweets or going to a funny
movie
Feeling rejected triggers buying games software

• Momentary conditions
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Can’t eat ice cream because teeth hurt
Can’t buy a book because left the credit card at home
Buy more groceries because hungry before shopping

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Ritual Situations
• A ritual situation can be described as a set of

interrelated behaviours that occur in a structured
format, that have symbolic meaning and that occur
in response to socially-defined occasions
• Important to marketers as they define consumption,
e.g. anniversaries, seasonal gifts
• Traditions and rituals being continued and
developed, e.g. Valentine's Day

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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Situational Influences and
Marketing Strategy
• Developing a situational influence matrix
• Positioning the product based on situation
• Segmenting the market based on usage situation
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alone
in combination with other segmentation variable
person/situation segmentation

Copyright 2004 McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Ltd
PPTs t/a Consumer Behaviour 4e by Neal, Quester, Hawkins

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The Situational Influence Matrix

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Usage Situations and Product Positioning

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Next Lecture…
Chapter 3:
Problem Recognition

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