As consumers, we live in a constantly changing world, driven by fast-paced
technological, social, cultural and economic developments, resulting in access to a
wide array of new products and services. These rapidly changing social and market
factors significantly affect our behaviours and purchase decisions. Consumer
behaviour will continue to change over the next decade and will affect our
consumption choices. For marketers, understanding how consumers behave helps
them to identify and offer products and services that better satisfy consumers’ needs.
The focus of this unit is on providing you with a comprehensive introduction to
theories and models that help explain consumer behaviour in different consumption
contexts. The unit will help you to develop knowledge about the steps in the
consumer decision-making process, and the internal and external factors (individual,
social, and cultural) that influence consumers’ evaluation of marketing messages and
subsequent purchase decisions. The unit will assist with your conceptual and
theoretical learning of how nuances in consumer behaviour impact consumer decision
making. The unit will help you to develop skills that enable the application of
consumer behaviour knowledge to marketing strategy and tactics.