Sustainable Consumption & Consumer Behavior: A Deep Dive
Motivation and Consumer Behavior
Understanding Motivation
Motivation is the process that drives people’s behavior. It arises from the need to satisfy a goal and can be influenced by personality. Drive is created by a discrepancy between our actual state and our ideal state. Wants are manifestations of needs shaped by personal and cultural factors.
Motivation Theories
- Motivational Drive Theory: Focuses on the biological need to return to homeostasis and reduce tension.
- Expectancy Theory: Behavior is pulled by the expectation of achieving desirable outcomes and positive incentives rather than pushed from within.
Motivational Directions
Different needs drive behavior:
- Biogenic: Needs that sustain life.
- Psychogenic: Needs related to status and social belonging.
- Utilitarian: Needs focused on tangible satisfaction and practical benefits.
- Hedonic: Needs driven by excitement and pleasure.
Case Study: Emma Lewisham
Consumers are motivated by intrinsic factors like values, self-care, health, and sustainability. Emma Lewisham’s use of natural ingredients and a circular business model aligns with these values. Extrinsic motivators, such as social pressures and external rewards, also play a role. Consumers might purchase to conform to social norms, buy from luxury brands, or adopt “green” beauty trends. Referral programs and luxury positioning further appeal to extrinsic motivations. Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations can lead to high customer loyalty.
Conflicts in Consumer Motivation
Cognitive dissonance arises when beliefs and behaviors clash. Brands can reduce this by reinforcing positive experiences, encouraging post-purchase reflection, and providing clear information. Common conflicts include approach-approach (choosing between two desirable alternatives), avoid-avoid (choosing between two undesirable alternatives), and approach-avoid (a single option with both positive and negative aspects). Strategies like bundling, trade-ins, and positive messaging can address these conflicts.
Self-Determination and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self-Determination Theory
This theory posits that needs are fulfilled when people experience growth and feel autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Case Study: Emma Lewisham
- Physiological: Products address skin concerns like dryness.
- Safety: Appeals to concerns about personal and planetary safety.
- Belongingness: Fosters a community of like-minded individuals through social media and the Beauty Circle refill program.
- Ego Needs: Luxury positioning, sleek packaging, and high-end retail placement reinforce prestige.
- Self-Actualization: Supports a lifestyle that aligns with personal values and contributes to global change.
It’s important to note that not all products can satisfy every level of the hierarchy, and cultural factors play a significant role.
Consumer Involvement
Consumer involvement is the relevance of an object based on needs, values, and interests. Types of involvement include inertia (low consideration of alternatives), flow state (deep engagement with a product), and cult product (commanding loyalty and worship). Factors influencing involvement include personal factors, object/stimulus, source of communication, differentiation of alternatives, and situational factors.
Results of Involvement
- Involvement with Ads: Influences purchase decisions.
- Involvement with Product: Leads to brand preference and perceived differences in attributes.
- Involvement with Decisions: Influences price sensitivity, information search, and deliberation time.
Increasing Involvement
Brands can increase involvement by appealing to sensory needs, hedonic needs, using novel stimuli, prominent stimuli, celebrity endorsements, and building customer relationships.
Case Study: Emma Lewisham
Emma Lewisham targets both low-involvement consumers (influenced by convenience, price, and external cues) and high-involvement consumers (who research products extensively and seek detailed information).
Values and Consumer Behavior
Understanding Values
A value is a belief that one condition is preferable to its opposite. Three types of values include cultural (e.g., security, happiness), consumption-specific (e.g., convenience), and product-specific (e.g., durability).
Values Orientation and Classification
- Other-Oriented: Based on society’s view of relationships with people (e.g., competition, masculinity, femininity).
- Environment-Oriented: Based on society’s view of the relationship with the environment (e.g., cleanliness, tradition, change).
- Self-Oriented: Approaches to life we find desirable (e.g., hard work, leisure).
Case Study: Emma Lewisham
Emma Lewisham uses psychographic segmentation to target eco-conscious luxury consumers willing to pay a premium for ethical and effective products.
Four Elements of Value
The more elements a brand incorporates, the greater the potential for loyalty and revenue growth:
- Functional Value
- Emotional Value
- Life-Changing Value (provides hope)
- Social Impact Value (transcendence)
Western cultures often prioritize short-term rewards. A value system is a culture’s ranking of relative values.
Attitudes and Consumer Behavior
Understanding Attitudes
An attitude is a learned predisposition to respond consistently positively or negatively to an attitude object (e.g., ad, product, brand, person). Attitudes endure over time and are influenced by emotional and cognitive factors.
Case Study: Emma Lewisham
Brand loyalty is influenced by emotional (sharing stories, connection to the environment) and cognitive appeals (performance, scientifically-backed results).
Functions of Attitudes
- Utilitarian Function
- Value-Expressive Function
- Ego-Defensive Function (protecting against external threats or internal feelings)
- Knowledge Function (need for order, meaning, structure)
Marketing Strategy and Attitudes
Marketing strategies influence feelings, intentions, and beliefs, which in turn shape attitudes towards products, brands, and situations. These attitudes then influence behavior (purchase, consumption, communication). Harmony between attitude and behavior is crucial.
Hierarchy of Effects
- Standard Learning (Learn-Feel-Do): High-risk product decisions, cognitive process.
- Low Involvement (Learn-Do-Feel): Behavioral learning, acting with limited knowledge.
- Experiential (Feel-Do-Learn): Hedonic consumption, emotive ads and reactions.
- Behavioral (Do-Learn-Feel): Triggers from external environment, habitual/impulse buying.
Attitude Formation
- Classical Conditioning: Object repeatedly paired with a stimulus.
- Instrumental Conditioning: Consumption of object positively reinforced.
- Complex Cognitive Process: Learned behavior through modeling.
Attitude Change
Attitude change can target emotional or cognitive components. Strategies depend on the consumer’s relationship with the product and the nature of the product.
Cognitive Change
- Comparative ads (effective for new products)
- Supportive arguments (positive attributes)
- Refutational arguments (addressing negative aspects)
Changing Attributes
- Change standards of ideals and industry “must-haves”
- Adjust relative importance of attributes
Emotional Change
- Affective ads
- Classical conditioning
- Increased exposure
- Humor (with clear brand identification)
- Fear appeals (if threat is immediate and a solution is provided)
Levels of Social Marketing
- Downstream: Individual
- Midstream: Community interventions
- Upstream: Decision/policy makers
- Macro: Enabling conditions, institutions, norms
Individual Decision Making
Types of Consumer Decisions
- Extended Problem Solving: Infrequent purchases, high involvement/risk.
- Limited Problem Solving: More common but still infrequent, new/unknown products.
- Habitual Decision Making: Behavioral, grocery purchases.
Consumer Roles
Consumers can adopt different roles in different contexts:
- Emotional Experiencers: Led by impulse, influenced by affective events theory and affective control theory.
- Habitual Actors: Instinctive, routinized, low-involvement decisions, using heuristics.
- Problem Solvers: Deliberative, rational, cognitive, using the EKB model.
EKB Model
- Problem Recognition: Recognizing a need or opportunity.
- Information Search: Greater when risk is high and prior experience is low.
- Evaluation of Alternatives: Considering different options.
- Product Choice: Evaluating criteria and determinant attributes.
- Post-Purchase Outcomes: Understanding consumer biases and encouraging reflection to reduce cognitive dissonance.
Buying, Using, and Disposing
Retail Format
Retail formats influence consumer behavior. Low-involvement purchases often occur in convenience stores or online, while high-involvement purchases are more common in department stores.
Creating Memorable Experiences
Retailers can create memorable experiences through theming, memorabilia, engaging the five senses, and positive reinforcement.
Stages of the Consumption Process
Stage 1: Contextual Effects on Buying and Disposing
- Physical Surroundings: Location, aroma, brand image.
- Social Surroundings: Social influence, peer pressure.
- Temporal Factors: Economic time, seasonal factors.
- Antecedent States: Pleasure, arousal, mood.
- Shopping Orientation: Utilitarian or hedonic reasons.
Stage 2: Purchase Environment
- Spontaneous or planned purchases
- Point-of-purchase displays
- Impulse buying
- Personalization technologies
Stage 3: Post-Purchase Outcomes
- Consumer Satisfaction: Meeting expectations set by brand communications.
- Customer Value: Packaging, competitive value.
- Brand Loyalty: Long-lasting, psychological connection.
- Product Disposal: Environmental impact, disposal methods.
Product Stewardship
Product stewardship involves responsible disposal and recycling, designing products for disassembly and reuse, and offering repair and take-back schemes.
Sustainable Consumption
Drivers of Sustainable Consumption
- Awareness of environmental issues
- Social trends
- Consumer demand for corporate responsibility
- Cost savings
- Market demand for sustainable solutions
- Shift from ownership to sharing/lending
- Opposition to planned obsolescence
Responsible Consumption
Responsible consumption considers the public consequences of private consumption and uses purchasing power to drive social change.
Anti-Consumption
Anti-consumption involves avoiding products incompatible with beliefs or ideology. This can manifest as rejection, restriction, or reclamation.
Mindful Consumption
Mindful consumption focuses on self-care, wellbeing, and community. It disrupts routines, enhances wellbeing, fosters pro-social behaviors, and nurtures non-materialism.
The Circular Economy
The circular economy consists of two material flows: biological materials (consumed by consumers) and technical materials (used by users). Repairing products is more profitable than recycling in a circular economy.
Sustainable Products
Sustainable products use standardized components, utilize by-products and waste, and are designed for durability and repairability.
Circular Strategies
- Smarter product use and manufacturing
- Product sharing
- Increased manufacturing efficiency
- Extending product lifespan
- Product reuse, repair, and refurbishment
- Product-oriented services
Sustainable Pricing
Sustainable pricing requires transparency and reflects the total cost of a product’s lifecycle.
Total Customer Cost
that they incur by acquiring,recycling or disposing of product.SustainableDistributiion=resource recovery/collection points must be accessible for consumers,identify risks in supply chain, pressure on suppliers to change behaviors,focus local to reduce transportation emissions,provide work to local communities.SustainablePromotion=eco-labelling,certifications,credible info to consumers,promotion focused on communicating initiatives and charitable deeds,concept of what is being promoted,and materials used,activities conducted through sustainable means.
W11:SOCIAL IMPACTS OF CONSUMPTION/CONSUMERISM:We consume due to the intersection of culture and personality and the macroenvironment in which culturalism,materialism,consumerism is normal.Profit by increasing sales,reducing cost of production,manufacture overseas,AI,not being as enviro friendly,sharing workloads,less jobs,Consumerism=buy things to be success,framed as right freedom.Neolibaralism=belief in free market,selling off govt.assets more competitive market,consumer sovereignty to conduct lives produce products they actually want,overspending,debt,value system of possessions+social image rather than spiritual,intellectual or cultural values.ConsumerBHaviorNegatives=Materialism associated w depression etc.,addictive consumption,social media MarkZinstagram, emotional dependency on product due to excitement,”consumed consumers”Zuboff’s behavioral surplus,counterfeits, convincing people they need to change. CASEoffersalternative design to last and be reusedchallenges traditional materialism opportunity to buy fewer, but more sustainable, products.marketers can shape consumer wants and needs with Market-based Transformations to sustainablilty:CASE1.ChoiceGiving= Bysimpludesigning refillable products and offering a carbon-positive line,incentivizes more eco-conscious behavior,2.ChoiceInfluencing= influencesbehavior withrefillable,changesthe perception of beauty products from disposable to sustainable,educate customers importance of refills versus traditional recycling 3.ChoiceEditing=controlling/limiting available optionsin the market by focusing on sustainability/Transparencywith clear messaging about the environmental impact of packaging, as well as offering refill programs.Paternalism=inference with the autonomy of a person e.g. govt. law/restrictions.PoliticalTransformations=politcy encouraging,while sustainable products remain more expensive than conventional they are unlikely to move beyond niches into massmarket.SocialTransformations of what it means to be a business=”taxing themselves”,enage with public/policymakers things that might not be essentially related to business, involvement with social media mvements,must be genuine can face backlash,need real action, (opportunitytodemonstrate that businesses can be both profitable and environmentally responsible)conflict=individuals constrained by habits,rotuines.CauseRMKTG=donating%,CorpSocialMKTG=encourage positive activities in society,CSR=make positive impact on stakeholders(community,employees,enviro,consumers).BrandActivism:value-driven strategy wjem brand develops non-neutral stance on institutionally contested socio-polit issues to create social change/mktg success,consumers buy brand bc believe values they portray(CASEnotonly offering eco-friendly product publicly advocating for broader industry changes,releasing her brand’s Ip other brands to adopt similar practicesleader)Prosocial practicesXActivistMessaging=Q1.Absence(traditional,opps to grow),Q2.Silence(lil messaging,high engage).Q3.Authentic(forming+driving solutions to publicinterestproblems).Q4.Inauthentic(woke-washing,deceptive).Behavioural/Social Change is dependent on values(A) that drive kinds of behaviors(B) that individuals(C) choose to adopt, based on theories of planned behavior and resonates with commonsense ideas of individuals agency.ABC