Consumer Behavior: Buying, Having and Being

Perception can be defined as the process of recognition of sensory stimuli such as touch, vision, smell, sound etc. and interpreting them (Solomon, 2015). The needs, want and demands of each and every customer is unique as their perception is different towards the same product or services. For instance, one customer can perceive iphone as luxurious product and can be one of the loyal customers of this brand. In the same time, another customer may not like the features of iPhone and rather he loves to use the Samsung mobile. They have different perception towards the same product, so, they tend to show different preferences. The customer’s perception towards a product can be influenced by his/her own experiences with that product, and also his/her family and friend’s opinions towards that product. In addition, the packaging and brand name of product, price and quality of the product and services also influences the perception of consumer (Rawat, 2014). For instances, if we saw a high

Consumer behavior can be defined in three words: buying, having and being. It is the study of the process which involves how, why and what an individual or group select, purchase, use and dispose the product, services, experiences or ideas to satisfy their needs and desires (Solomon, 2015). In simple word, Consumer behavior is the process consumers go through when they make purchases (Lombardo, n.d.). The exchange goods and services with monitory value occur in the market, in which two or more organizations or people try to satisfy their needs. It is an ongoing process. While purchase or exchange valuable items, the consumer goes through pre-purchase, purchase and post purchase stages while decision making. Consumer behavior is the study of how consumers behave in the market physically and psychologically, but the actual buying process depends on the decision made by the consumer. The decision making process of a consumer depends on his/her behavior which involves the steps such as