Factors Influencing Consumer Buying Decision

Factors influencing consumer buying decision can be categorized into four groups. These are the cultural factors, social factors, personal factors and psychological factors.

Cultural factors

Cultural factors are related to the cultural environment or culture of the consumer. Individuals are influenced by their families, friends, cultural environment and the society. These teach an individual values, preferences and common behaviors.

As such, cultural factors such as cultural trends, social classes and sub-culture aspects like religions, age groups, nationality, gender and ethnic groups will always influence the buying decision of an individual. In most cases, people want to conform to the expectations of their culture when buying a product or service.

Social factors

Social factors have a lot of influence on the buying decision of a consumer. These factors can be categorized into three groups. These are: family, reference groups and social status and roles.

A buying decision of a consumer is influenced by the reference group that they belong to. These groups are usually related to the social origin, residential place, hobbies, work, leisure, and age of the members. Lifestyles, values and mindsets perpetuated by these groups influence the buying decisions of the members.

A family is perhaps, the most influential social factor. This is because a family is the environment where individuals socialize, evolve, acquire values and develop their personality. People develop perceptions, opinions and attitudes towards products and services based on the values of their families.

In most cases, buying decisions of individuals are influenced by their social status and roles. This is because their status or roles dictate their needs as well as the products and services that will satisfy those needs.

Personal factors

The characteristics of a consumer influence their buying decision. Such characteristics include the way of life and age of a consumer. For instance, a consumer cannot buy the same products and services at the age of 20 years and at the age of 70 years. The way of life of a consumer that also influences their buying decision includes lifestyle, hobbies, activities, environment, values, and habits that surround their life.

Revenue and purchasing power of an individual definitely influences their buying decision. This is because a consumer can only buy what they can afford. A consumer may also consider the social value that a product has before purchasing it.

Buying decision is also influenced by self-concept and personality. Self-concept refers to the image that individuals have of themselves. This influences what a person can buy and what they cannot purchase. Personality on the other hand comprises of specific characteristics and traits of an individual. Personality also determines products that one is willing and able to purchase.

Psychological factors

These include perception, motivation, attitudes and beliefs as well as learning. All these factors work together in the mind of the consumer and they determine the kind of a buying decision that they make.

We can write an essay on factors influencing consumer buying decision for you

There are many factors influencing consumer buying decision and to write an excellent essay on them you need time and skills. Alternatively, you can save your time and energy by simply placing an order for your essay with expert essay writers at Premium Essays.