Socio-Psychology Consumer Behavior

 

Socio Psychology is the study of how a person's behaviour and responses are influenced by the social group with whom he or she interacts, or simply by the conduct of others in a given social situation. 

Consumer psychology is the study of people's buying habits, customs, and preferences in connection to consumer goods, as well as their reactions and preferences to product advertising, packaging, and marketing.

Consumer psychology is a branch of psychology that combines social psychology, marketing, behavioural economics, and other sciences to better understand customers. Consumer psychology principles are used to assess and comprehend consumers and their decision-making processes. Market research examines psychological elements that influence consumer behaviour such as demographics, personality, and lifestyles, as well as behavioural characteristics such as usage rates, usage occasion, loyalty, brand endorsement, and propensity to make referrals.

Consumer behaviour is constantly changing. It fluctuates throughout time and depends on the nature of the products. Individuals, like societal trends, change throughout their lives. Similarly, not all customers act in the same way. Some people live over their means, while others remain frugal even when they don't have to be.

The Psychology of Buying and Spending

Much of what people buy is required for their health and safety, such as food, shelter, and medical treatment. But what drives people to buy goods they don't need, such as the latest iPhone or a pair of unsuitable high-heeled shoes? The study of why people make such foolish purchases is strongly linked to behavioural economics, which investigates why people stray from the most reasonable option available.Extraneous purchases, according to behavioural economists, marketers, and psychologists, may be motivated by a desire to show off one's social status or by an emotion like grief or boredom. In other cases, businesses may be able to successfully influence consumers' demand for a "good deal" by making an unnecessary item appear very affordable or portraying it as being in short supply. Individuals and families may benefit in the long run by learning to detect typical manipulation techniques.

How Marketing and Advertising Work:

Advertising and marketing are two huge, interconnected sectors dedicated to introducing people to items and enticing them to buy them. However, because people's preferences change over time, what works in one product's campaign may not work in another. Advertisers use focus groups, market research, and psychological studies to better understand what motivates consumers to make purchases or grow loyal to brands in order to tailor messages for a fickle audience. For example, everyone has heard the advertising cliche "sex sells," yet ad designers and behavioural researchers disagree on exactly what, when, and why sex may be utilised to successfully market a product. Some data has recently revealed that marketing to the "lowest common denominator" may actually cause customer backlash.

Application of Social Psychology:

Consumption is linked to a huge range of current societal and individual issues, whether it be excessive spending or purchasing products that are harmful to people's health or the environment. This research highlights how social psychologists can contribute to the understanding and improvement of purchasing behaviour. For example, a social psychologist noticing that product is purchased for identification purposes can help explain why people in difficult financial situations may occasionally squander on lavish, seemingly unnecessary items. Professionals, planners, and producers can collaborate with a social psychologist who has some knowledge of the scenarios in which deliberation fails completely and people shop without much thinking.

How does Social Psychology affect consumer behavior :

Consumer behaviour, including purchasing behaviour, social influence, information processing of product / marketing messaging, ambitious objectives and decisions, and evaluation of the effectiveness of marketing and advertising communication, is studied by social psychology and consumer psychology. It concentrates on the psychological influences. It also outlines how an organization's leadership, structure, and operations handle brand and situational changes.

To study consumer behaviour, consumer psychologists consider a variety of elements and fields, including the consumer's age, gender, prior purchase trends, financial status, target markets, preferences, educational background, and so on, before recommending appropriate strategies and solutions.

Let's look at an example to better grasp this. 

Amul has always been outspoken about any type of social event or cause, national or worldwide, via the eyes of its evergreen Amul girl. As a result, the brand stands out, making it an excellent example of branding.

It uses interactive content to emotionally engage with people. Rather of focusing on their products, they express their views on important social topics and events, which often becomes viral content. This has resulted in massive engagement from all age groups across all mediums.