Chapter 11: Situational Influences

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Chapter 11 Situational Influences

Consumer Behavior - A Framework John C.
Mowen Michael S. Minor
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Key Concepts

• Consumer Situations
• Types of situational influences
• Influence of physical surroundings
• Store location effects
• Store atmosphere

• Task definition
• Categories of gift-giving situations
• Influence of time
• Time differences across cultures
• Types of antecedent states

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The Environment and the Exchange Process
Cultural Environment
Economic Environment
Subcultural Environment
Regulatory Environment
Group/ family Processes
Situational Influencers
Individual Processes
Buying Unit
Exchange Process
Marketer
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Consumer Situations . . .

• consist of temporary environmental factors that
  form the context within which a consumer activity
  occurs at a particular place and time.
• include factors that
• Involve the time and place in which a consumer
  activity takes place
• Explain why the action takes place
• Influence consumer behavior

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Table 11-1 Belks Situational Elements

• Physical surroundings
• Social surroundings
• Time
• Task definition
• Antecedent states

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Physical Surroundings . . .

• . . .are the concrete physical and spatial
  aspects of the environment that encompass a
  consumer activity.

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Effects of Music on Shoppers

• In a supermarket store study sales increased
  daily by 38 when slower music was played.
• A restaurant study found when slow music was
  played, liquor sales increased.

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Effects of Music continued

• Playing peppy music while on hold or waiting in
  line doesnt make time pass more quickly.
• Louder music increases pace of events
  perception but raises estimates of time durations.

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The Effects of Crowding on Consumers

• Density - how closely packed people are (i.e.,
  the physical arrangements of people in a space).
• Crowding - the unpleasant feelings that people
  experience when they perceive that densities are
  too high and that their control of the situation
  has been reduced to unacceptable levels.

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High - and Low-density...

• High-density situations may be beneficial -
• More perceived control in bar study, less in bank
  study.
• In fun situations, density enhances pleasure.
• There is usually an optimal level of density.
• Other elements (time, convenience) as important
  for shopping behavior.

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Consumer Crowd Behavior

• In some circumstances consumers behave like
  hysterical crowds
• Large groups may cause high physiological arousal
  among each of the members
• The high arousal results in the tendency of each
  member of the crowd to act on a dominant idea or
  tendency
• Each person in a crowd becomes inconspicuous and
  individual responsibility is lost.

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Store Location . . .

• . . . influences consumers from several
  perspectives.
• Consumers have cognitive maps of a citys
  geography that may not match the actual locations
  of retail stores.
• Image transference exists The image of anchor
  stores affects that of smaller stores in the same
  shopping center.

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Store Layout . . .

• . . . is the physical organization of a store
  that creates specific traffic patterns, assists
  retailers in the presentation of merchandise, and
  helps create a particular atmosphere.

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Atmospherics . . .

• . . . refers to how managers manipulate the
  design of the building, interior space, layout of
  aisles, texture of carpets and walls, scents,
  colors, shapes, and sounds experienced by
  customers to achieve a certain effect.

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Atmospherics and Shopping Behavior
Emotional Response
Behavior
Atmosphere
Influences
Influences
Time in Store Affiliation Buying
Layout Sounds Smells Texture...
Pleasure/ displeasure Arousal/ Boredom
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Olfactory Cues...

• Shoppers perceive higher quality goods in scented
  stores.
• Odors should be consistent with store offerings.
• These cues are expensive to maintain.

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Effects of Spatial Arrangements

• Space modifies/shapes behavior
• Retail store space affects consumers
• Retail stores affect attitudes, images
• Stores can create desired consumer reactions

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Social Surroundings . . .

• . . . deals with the effects of other people on
  a consumer in a consumption situation.

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The Task Definition . . .

• . . . the situational reasons for buying or
  consuming a product or service at a particular
  time and place.
• Usage situations form the context in which a
  product is used and influence the product
  characteristics sought by a consumer.

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Occasion-Based Marketing Opportunities

• Sometimes a product is locked into one usage
  situation, limiting market potential.
• Consumers may come to consider the product
  inappropriate for all other situations.

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Gift-Giving Motivations
Low
High
Reciprocity creation
Voluntary Obligatory
Altruism
Gift Type
Ritual obligation
Love, friendship
Degree of Self-Interest
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Gift Behavior and Gender...

• Women start shopping earlier for Christmas
  (October vs. November)
• Spend more time shopping/gift (2.4 vs. 2.1 hours)
  
• Are more successful (fewer of their gifts are
  exchanged)
• But men spend 50 more/gift.

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Self-Gifts...

• Premeditated, indulgent
• Rewarding an accomplishment, therapy for
  disappointment
• Baseball glove/Front-end loader

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Time...

• Individual differences in conception
• Time as a product
• Time as a situational variable

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Time Individual Differences...

• People Can Use Time in Four Different Ways
• Work
• Necessities
• Housework
• Leisure

Obligatory
Discretionary
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Individual Time Differences Are Influenced by
Culture...

• Linear Separable. There is a past, present,
  future. The future is expected to be better the
  idea of progress. Activities are a means to an
  end.
• Circular Traditional. The future is like the
  present. Do today only what has to be done
  today. Time and money arent related.
• Procedural Traditional. Task Orientation.
  Meetings take as long as necessary.

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Time as a Product

• Many Purchases Are Made to Buy Time
• The time-buying consumer is a consumer who
  engages in buying time through these products
• Time-saving qualities are a key promotional idea
• Time can act as a product attribute

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Perception Management, Time, and Lines

• In 1998, 70 Northern California MacDonalds
  restaurants tried multiple lines vs. one line.
• The single, serpentine line is most popular -
• Multiple lines actually move people faster
• But jumping from line to line creates stress.

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Time as a Situational Variable

• How much time a consumer has available to do a
  task influences the buying strategy used to
  select and purchase the product.
• With limited time, there is less information
  search.

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Antecedent States . . .

• . . . are the temporary physiological and mood
  states that a consumer brings to a consumption
  situation.
• Physiological State Hunger.
• Mood State Happy feelings.

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Antecedent States . . .
. . . Can lead to problem recognition. . . .
Can change the feeling component of
hierarchy of effects (Ch. 8) . . . Mood states
influence behavior, e.g. shopping to alleviate
loneliness.
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Usage Situation, Person, and Product Interactions

• The Buying Act Results From Interactions That
  Occur Among
• Consumption situations
• Characteristics of the buying unit/person
• The product or service being offered

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Managerial Implications

• Positioning. Situational variables offer
  multiple opportunities for positioning.
• Research. May indicate which situations present
  opportunities for new products.
• Marketing Mix. Firms may be able to present
  time-saving attributes as a tradeoff for a higher
  price.
• Segmentation. An increase in the female work
  force presents opportunities to market to the
  segment of males doing more of their own shopping.

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Situation-by-Product Interaction
High Low
Ginger Ale
Gatorade
Tennis Match
Party Mixer