Discuss how buying behaviors vary between different subcultures. Do you think ethnic subcultures, religious subcultures, or age subcultures have the

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Course Learning Outcomes for Unit VI Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

3. Explain how consumers interpret information about products and people. 3.1 Evaluate how consumers’ interpretation of a situation within a company affected buying.

5. Describe how self-perception influences consumers’ actions.

5.1 Explain how self-perception impacts the consumer decision-making process in a company.

8. Analyze how consumers evaluate product selections. 8.1 Describe how a consumer would evaluate product or service choices within an industry.

Course/Unit

Learning Outcomes Learning Activity

3.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Ayman and Kaya (2014) article Fang, Wen, George, and Prybutok (2016) article Haberstroh, Orth, Hoffmann, and Brunk, (2017) article Schouten and McAlexander (1995) article Case Study

5.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Fang, Wen, George, and Prybutok (2016) article Haberstroh, Orth, Hoffmann, and Brunk (2017) article Schouten and McAlexander (1995) article Case Study

8.1

Unit Lesson PowerPoint Presentation Ayman and Kaya (2014) article Schouten and McAlexander (1995) article Case Study

Reading Assignment In order to access the following resources, click the links below. Click here to access the Unit VI PowerPoint presentation. (Click here to access a PDF version of the presentation.) Read pp. 1–2 and 5–8 in the article below. Ayman, U., & Kaya, A. K. (2014). Consumption of branded fashion apparel: Gender differences in behavior.

Social Behavior & Personality: An International Journal, 42, 1–8. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=95058942&site=ehost-live&scope=site

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE Subcultures

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Read pp. 116–120 and 126–128 in the article below. Fang, J., Wen, C., George, B., & Prybutok, V. R. (2016). Consumer heterogeneity, perceived value, and

repurchase decision-making in online shopping: The role of gender, age, and shopping motives. Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, 17(2), 116–131. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.proquest.com.library resources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1792212900?accountid=33337

Read pp. 161–163, 167, and 170 in the article below. Haberstroh, K., Orth, U. R., Hoffmann, S., & Brunk, B. (2017). Consumer response to unethical corporate

behavior: A re-examination and extension of the moral decoupling model. Journal of Business Ethics, 140(1), 161–173. http://search.proquest.com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/abicomplete/docview/1859049941 /5313F6356640416CPQ/36?accountid=33337

Read pp. 43–44 and 57–59 in the article below. Schouten, J. W., & McAlexander, J. H. (1995). Subcultures of consumption: An ethnography of the new

bikers. Journal of Consumer Research, 22(1), 43–61. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=http://search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=9507113978&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Unit Lesson Another impactful element on consumer buying is that of consumer culture. Think about your own culture and how that affects your purchases. Culture can be defined as the societal beliefs that are tied to a certain social group. Think about how Starbucks approaches countries where tea is the preferred drink over coffee (e.g., China). Starbucks’s strategy in these areas of China is to emphasize the idea of a gathering space with larger stores while including tea on its menu.

Culture can actually provide meaning to certain objects and/or specific activities. Culture can also be tied to expected activities and behaviors by certain groups, which varies from country to country. These are referred to as cultural norms. These are unwritten but are known by all in the culture. Think about how Disney experienced a cultural misstep when it opened a Disney park just east of Paris in 2002. It attempted to bring Westernized family values of no alcohol being served to this location in France. Outwardly, this principle

(JerryUnderscore, 2013)

Starbucks sign

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seems to align with its core mission, but it neglected to understand that it is culturally appropriate in France to have a glass of wine with dinner. Disney quickly realized its mistake and modified these practices in France, but consumer impressions were already formed, causing profitability numbers to be negatively impacted (Karadjova-Stoev. 2016). These negative numbers are referred to as cultural sanctions or penalties associated with culturally inconsistent behavior. From a strategic marketing standpoint, Disney could have avoided these cultural sanctions with thorough research of the culture, customs, and practices within France before opening its park doors. Global expansion should be a consideration of every company, but due diligence is an important requirement to the successful expansion into global markets.

The root of culture can be drawn from traditions or even religious beliefs. One could argue that religious practices create tradition or, conversely, that tradition creates religious beliefs. Whichever way you look at it, religious practices provide a huge influence on consumer buying behavior. Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are four highly recognized religions. Religious beliefs can significantly affect diet and food purchases. For instance, during Lent, Catholic Christians avoid meat, particularly on Fridays. Members of the Jewish religion tend to eat kosher foods, and Islamic people avoid pork. Clothing is another area that marks different religious cultures. For instance, some religious beliefs suggest that women should wear veils while in public while others require certain styles or colors of clothing. Marketers need to understand these cultural and religious differences, ensuring that they are adjusting their product offerings to align with these religious beliefs. Many consumers are very passionate about their traditional cultural and religious beliefs and would be offended if marketers went against these beliefs. Negative connotations such as this can have long-lasting effects on consumer buying habits. Another area of ethnic distinction is that of ethnic microcultures. Hispanic, Asian, African American, and White Caucasian are four of the most commonly referred. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment in the United States, and the Asian group is the fastest growing based upon percentages (Perreault, Cannon, & McCarthy, 2014). The Hispanic culture tends to place a high value on family values and family social gatherings. A marketer might use advertising themes that emphasize these family values, family gatherings, and the wholesomeness approach. The African American culture is characterized by a growing level of affluence over the last decade. A marketer might target this group with higher-priced prestige products. The Asian culture tends to be highly educated and highly affluent, drawn towards prestige brands and expensive products. This group emphasizes the importance of education. They also tend to be drawn toward their home Asian foods more than other cultures (Perreault et al., 2014). A restaurant owner looking to open a restaurant specializing in Asian foods might look at the demographics of the area in which he/she is looking to open the restaurant. Conversely, home sellers might target this population as their culture encourages home-buying practices.

Cinderella’s castle at EuroDisney (Abigaildavidsm, 2013)

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Another example is that of your college, Columbia Southern University, which might benefit from targeting the Asian culture because of its value on participating in higher education. Age subcultures provide an automatic bond for consumers because this is the group with which consumers most easily identify. The commonalities with others in the same age subculture change as they age, but the group members remain the same. Marketers are constantly reviewing age cohorts, looking to target certain products to each age cohort as they advance through life cycles. The chart below identifies the age subcategories.

This grouping identifies each subgroup based on an approximate age breakdown. Each of these groups will not be attracted to the same products/services, and the methods that marketers need to use to reach each group should also be different. Of these groups, the Baby Boomers have held the most significant economic impact through each stage of their lifecycles, simply because of their sheer numbers. Older adults prefer autonomy or self-sufficiency, connectedness or bonds with friends, and altruism or wanting to give back to the world. Within the Generation Y subculture, tweens, teenagers, Millennials, and Echo Boomers are included. The teenager stage is an important age segment for marketers to focus. Many of the products purchased by this group are feel-good products such as cosmetics, posters, and fast food. As teenagers struggle to find themselves, they are continuously looking for reassurance and cues from their peers within their subgroup. Advertising can be particularly impactful for this group as the importance of fitting in is high. The Millennials and Echo Boomers are characterized by optimism about the future with an eye on change and progress. They tend to be multitaskers that are incredibly tech-savvy as they are the first generation that grew up with technology. Marketers need to stand up and take notice of this generation. Generation Z is quite young right now, but these individuals are characterized as having had technology in their cribs. The marketing method used to reach each of these groups can also be different. For instance, Generations Y and Z have grown up with technology and, therefore, might be more drawn to digital marketing techniques. Conversely, the Baby Boomers are probably better reached by print advertising such as newspapers, flyers, or even direct- mail pieces. In previous units, we discussed self-concept, which is also referred to as self-perception. As a reminder, this is defined as reflections of the consumers’ attitudes toward themselves. The products and services that

The illustration shows age subcategories.

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individuals choose to purchase tend to align with their personalities or, minimally, their perception of their personalities. Combining this idea of self-concept with the topics covered in this unit, including ethnic cultures, age cultures, and religious cultures, will provide marketers with a deeper understanding of the consumer. The self-concept ties directly into these cultural beliefs, significantly affecting consumer buying. Two other important topics related to culture are those of enculturation and acculturation. Enculturation refers to the process by which consumers learn their native culture while acculturation refers to the process by which consumers learn a culture other than their own. Understanding these processes provides marketers with additional insight on how adjustments to different cultures influence the overall consumer buying process. Other trends that affect consumer buying behavior are declining birth rates, increasing affluence, increasing life expectancy, and increasing cultural diversity. Each of these trends will understandably have varying effects on overall consumer buying behavior. Thinking through each of these, declining birth rates will lead to a decrease in overall population. Increasing affluence theoretically leads to higher discretionary spending levels, leading to higher levels of overall spending. Increasing life expectancy leads to the need for different types of products to be geared toward the over 65-year-old age group. An example of this is the expanding elderly home options that have appeared over the last decade. Finally, an increasingly diverse population suggests that more products appealing to this diverse population will need to be offered. Generally, people share an identification with subcultures, and these memberships influence their consumer buying behavior. Gender roles; ethnic, racial and religious subcultures; and age all play important roles in consumption decisions. It has been stated that birds of a feather flock together, referring to the common feeling that people live and identify with people who share common consumption patterns. The idea for marketers is to realize the increased efficiencies of their messages when they focus on the similarities among consumers within their subgroups.

References Abigaildavidsm. (2013). Disneyland, castle, Disney, Europe [Image]. Pixabay.

https://pixabay.com/en/disneyland-castle-disney-europe-1611415/ JerryUnderscore. (2013). Starbucks, coffee, sign, city [Image]. Pixabay. https://pixabay.com/en/starbucks-

coffee-sign-city-urban-1972319/ Karadjova-Stoev, G., & Mujtaba, B. G. (2016). Strategic human resource management and global expansion

lessons from the Euro Disney challenges in France. The International Business & Economics Research Journal, 15(3), 79–887. https://libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/login?auth=CAS&url=https://search-proquest- com.libraryresources.columbiasouthern.edu/docview/1789217707?accountid=33337

Perreault, W. D., Cannon, J. P., & McCarthy, E. J. (2014). Basic marketing: A marketing strategy planning

approach (19th ed.). McGraw-Hill.