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Consumer behaviour

Published on December 30, 2012 Reviewed on April 30, 2020   22 min

A selection of talks on Marketing & Sales

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0:00
Hello. My name is Gillian Hogg from the School of Management and Languages at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, and this talk is about consumer behavior.
0:10
In the book, "The Unmanageable Consumer", Gabriel and Lang point that the modern consumer is now a God-like figure before whom markets and politicians alike bow. They are said to dictate production, to fuel innovation, to be creating new service sectors, to be driving modern politics, to have it in their power to save the environment and protect the future of the planet. Understanding consumers and the way that consumers act in the modern marketplace is vital for any business.
0:38
The 21st Century consumer is very demanding. Consumers are aware of their rights, they are promiscuous, they change their brands and their behavior on an innumerable occasions. They're very price-sensitive, particularly in times of austerity with discretionary purchases subject to revision. Consumers place emphasis on product value, not to what the product does, but what value is delivered to the consumer. In this talk, I want to concentrate on consumer value and how we understand how consumers deliver value from products.
1:12
The role of the modern consumer is to want to want under all circumstances and at all times. Our economies depends on production being driven by consumption. The modern consumer, however no longer saves up and instead demands instant credit and instant gratification from what they buy. Choice is equated with freedom, and freedom of choice drives political agendas. The Internet is really important in understanding modern consumer because the geographical boundaries of what we can buy have changed and choice has become international, and therefore increasingly we need to look at how consumers behave in an international marketplace.