Consumption behavior of youths towards luxury product is influenced by a number of factors. The factors that influence consumption of luxury product among the youths is quite similar to that of the elders. Although the product demanded among the youth and elderly the consumption behavior are similar take for example the demand for beauty products is due to fact that the young person is aware that the product is available in the market this is similar fact when it comes to elderly persons.
The main difference among the two groups is that one group is endowed with resources to acquire the product of their choice while the other does have resource to purchase the product of their own. Looking at the factors that influence consumption such psychological factors, person factors, cultural factors and social factors all of them play an important role among the youth. Take for example the consumption of good sporting car, a beautiful ornament ,quality of the product, the price of the product ,the elegance of the product are factors that are considered in consumption.
In consumer behavior personal factors such as economic circumstances, occupation, age, lifecycle, lifestlye, personality and many factors are considered to influence consumption. For young person to be able to consume a luxury product first he must be economically capable to have the ability to purchase the product in question. Let me a young person wishing to buy a sporting car or an Italian perfume that young person must be economically capable in order to spend money in order to buy the goods he must satisfied with basic human needs in order for him or her to purchase the product. Lifestyle also plays an important role in choosing the consumption pattern of young person.
Therefore person’s lifestyle affects his consumption by choosing perfume even though the time factor evens a spotting car. I can conclude that persons’ lifestyle and economic circumstance which are as result of social class affects his personality, his economic behavior and consumption behavior and this are factors that determine the person actual activities, opinions and interest towards various products.
In personal factors other things/characteristics that influence consumption is occupation and personality. Whether old or young the personality of the person determines the product is likely to consume self young man with extra disposable income will behave the same way towards to luxury as an elderly person so long as they extra disposable income. However, it should mentioned that although their behavior is similar what they will consume will be different because of their age differences. A young may view a spots car as luxury while a luxury person will go RAv4 intercooler, the behavior is the same. And what this people extra disposable income is their occupation. This means that as far as person factors are concerned most of the personal characteristics play an important person or elderly person.
Persons consumption pattern is also affected by psychological factors such as motivation beliefs and attitudes and perception take for example a young to purchase a car or take a cup of water this man will motivated by the people of the same class to be able to purchase that item and this will create a perception towards a product. It does not matter what is age of person consideration but person will be stimulated by his or her attitudes or perception towards a product.
Social factors
People are influence by reference groups and usually expose a person to a new behavior and lifestyle. One can belong to a group whose lifestyle believes at owning a car. Reference groups also influence one’s attitudes because their desires fit in these groups. Some people prefer some products, hence once could like to join his friend or family member towards belonging to the same social class by buying the same product. Also reference groups influence similarity and conformity that may make a person to alive at a specific decision. So doing one will eventually buy a product similar to that of his friend.
People who are in the same social class share similar values, interests, and behavior. we have upper class people who are social elite with a good family background.
Cultural factors
Both young and elderly believe in some values and this values influence their consumption regardless of the age. Children prefer specific values that are crucial to a product due the influence certain culture. One of the values they like most is comfort. These values common in children remain in them even if they grow up.
Focusing on the culture, effectiveness in consumption of a person in choosing a product will focus on the impact of a culture as a whole in the attainment of the overall objectives of the family or group. The effectiveness in a culture clearly provides an avenue for both youth and old to embrace a single consumption behavior.
consumption can be improved when an individual is able to influence and coordinate a group effectively through enhancing the cooperation of each member. Cooperation among members in this case can be enhanced through communication where the members gain a unique identity and it is facilitated by interaction that exists between the people and incorporated from the individual’s culture and practices.
Most people who are in a position of buying vehicles will influence behavior of their children. It is been like a culture to them that our car is the best. Most people in America come from subcultures that place high value of owning vehicle. Others interest in deciding the type of product to buy is influenced by their nationality.
The attitude of young person towards tableware and cars has not evolved much between 1980 and 1990. In this period between 1980 and 1990 a car was perceived by young person as a luxury item although because of technology the item under considerations the product has changed but the situation is the same. Most youth of 1990 or 1980’s have needed to “show off” as well have the desire to ‘show off’ which is closely associated with desire to appear successful or even be on a par with others.
The difference, however, lies in the fact that showing off is more particularly directed at consumption as such. What the need to show off boils down to is that the consumer wants to be consider better than others. In fact the need and striving to be considered superior and even to serve as status person or group, is sometimes stronger than the need for equality. In this regard showing off refers serves as material proof of status and success.
Veblen’s concept of conspicuous can also be included with this need.However; it is also true that conspicuous consumption is less important and obvious in developed societies where there is more even distribution of income. This is to a considerable extent also true for the consumption habits of the youths regardless the period under consideration, who would certainly be les inclined towards luxury consumption. Consumption to show off would however seem to be a phenomenon more prevalent amongst individual consumers rather than amongst specific consumer groups.
The increase in demand and behavior towards Italian products is due to number of factors one of the factors that has contributed to their success of. One of factor is aided awareness created by the Italian companies. This product are also doing well in the market because in American market have succeeded thus influencing success in the other markets. The Italian products are assumed to have fineness and they contain luxury element in them, this fact makes them successive in any market. These products are also marketed by celebrities who make them look like they are best in the market.
However the demand factors of products can broadly distinguish between: individual modifying factors, such as the physical characteristic of the individual consumer, individual reactions to sensory perceptions, individual ethical and moral values and conceptions, intellectual capacities and general individual motivations. Social demand factors derive from the fact that consumer units live in a particular social environment and react to influences and stimuli emanating from the actions of other persons or groups, irrespective of whether they are nation as whole. The economic position of consumers as well as the legal provisions of the community set more or less flexible limits within which socio-cultural factors can influence consumer behavior.
Quality is another influencing factor for these products.Quality is where the goods or services produced are of good standards and fit for the purpose. Any enterprise objectives are to produce goods and services which are of good standard and suit the purpose for which they were manufactured for. This has forced marketing management to do a lot of market research such that whatever they offer to the market, the consumer is willing to sacrifice to posses it.
Different customers have different preferences and taste to different products. For example the geographical location of a market can affect the perception of the consumer in that a customer may prefer imported goods to be of good quality than the one which is locally made.
Customers also perceive goods of higher prices to be of good quality and those of low prices are brought into question since consumers tend to think that they are of poor quality. People of lower incomes buy goods and/or services of lower prices to satisfy their needs and hence quantity dictates their expenditure than quality. This has forced many companies to have market segmentation and product differentiation so as to increase sales.
We shall say that the supply and demand is at equilibrium when the price is equivalent to the price of demand. If we draw the graph, it will be at the point where the supply curve and demand curve intercept and this is called market equilibrium.. Thus, equilibrium price is the relative price at which buyers require and is equals to the present value benefits of households towards homes. Equilibrium can only change if there is change in one of the demand and supply conditions that have been highlighted up there.
- an increase in demand will raise the price of good and an increase in the number of income available
- a decrease in demand will lower the price and reduce the number of products being constructed.
In this case, we will assume the supply has remained constant. When the supply also fluctuates, then things will be vice versa.
Customer is the final recipient of the product/service of an enterprise. Price is associated with the concept of utility and value that is the value of a product is influenced by its utility to the consumer and the consumer must look for all means possible to posses the product service in terms of money. Since money is a scarce resource, he can only satisfy a need within his/her reach. This means that the consumption expenditure of the customers’ purchasing power is to achieve any greatest possible satisfaction of his wants.
Different customers have different perceptions to the price of the product. People with higher incomes will prefer goods at a higher price because they perceive it to be of a good quality and their disposable income can allow. If there are an increase in general prices without an increase in disposable income, it will force the average customer to adjust his or her expenditure for needs satisfaction hence reduced consumption.
Price is the art that a customer pry for a product or service while quality is the proper/good standard of the goods produced for consumption. Therefore customer perception of goods and or services can be easily affected by either of them. Customers tend to associate high prices to products of high quality and low prices to those products of poor quality. This largely affects customers with different purchasing powers as those with high disposable incomes will buy expensive goods and those goods with lower prices to satisfy their needs.
Geographical location of market can also affect customer demand. Products imported from developed countries are normally expensive and are perceived to be of high quality than goods produced locally. Products or services sold in densely populated areas are priced at a fair price due to competition and hence perceived to be of a lower quality. Further, price and quality is affected by social class like educational level and occupation of the consumer. If his income pattern is high tend to buy expensive goods so as to maintain their reputation in the society.
Italian products meets this criteria and this why they are a success in the market as compared to other luxury beauty products.
Luxury symbols that are being recognized in Europe and Asia they is no much difference in the symbols used because the product that had succeeded in the European market such as Italian beauty products are the same as those ones in American and Asian markets. A part from culture which is different among the individual s in this continent the product is same.
Community culture represents widely the macro environment that the youth live in. It constitutes of the country’s expectations of its people, beliefs, values and norms, its unsung heroes and precedents. According to many writers, literature shows that culture has been characterized by strong consumption ethic. The aspect of individual goals and achievement of these goals is being motivated by self interest or individualism. The main influence is that culture has had on the consumption choice. To understand one’s culture and those of others, one uses dimensions that help us to understand them. These include individualism, masculinity, power distance and uncertainty avoidance. This means that youths in these areas are the same except culture differences that influences the simple. For example a simple of the Muslim bothers and sisters may be different from the Christian brothers.
Therefore the youths in the three continents acceptable symbols are different because of culture. In Europe and America may accept the same symbol but in Asia a different symbol may be acceptable. The companies marketing luxury products will choose a symbol that suits the group of people.
In my opinion the consumption behavior between the young people and the old has evolved differently. The young people consumption behavior towards luxury is evolutionary while the old people have remained conformists. Majority of the young at educated and this factor plays an important role in consumption patterns.
Certain goods and services are purchased fairly regularly according to particular behavior patterns regardless of the age group. Other types of goods are purchased only after thorough consideration of the age group. The decision-making and choice process in general comprise five consumer unit at any point in time and under certain circumstances need not go through all of these and not necessarily follow the
Seeking out alternatives
There are numerous as in which consumers can obtain information on types of goods available and their specific characteristics. These include personal experience, knowledge obtained through personal discussions as well as information gained from advertising presentations. The process of seeking out and comparing alternative gods often precedes final decisions on the actual purchase of any specific type of commodity or service.
Determining alternative values
Even when a consumer posses information on the value of alternative goods for the purpose of specific need satisfaction he still has to choose these alternatives to satisfy particular need. The difference between alternatives may lie in variety of considerations such as the functional or technical efficiency of the product its design, colour, quality and price on the hand and its replacement value resale value and possible alternative uses on the other hand. In eliminating alternative commodities and services in the choice there are essentially two factors influencing the decisions of consumers, namely their priorities instructing their need patterns and the financial means they have at their disposal at any point in time.
Evaluation of remaining alternatives in the choice process some gods may be eliminated merely on the basis of the preferences or on the basis of nation of alternatives a choice must be made between remaining alternatives the consumer will try to establish which article will give him the greatest satisfaction by weighing up the characteristics of such products against each other. Sometimes it is possible for the consumer to make an objective choice but choices are often based ion purely subjective considerations.
The final choice
Decisions in respect of the total need and choice patterns of consumer units are basically arrived at in the same manner as in the case of specific goods and services. The total need pattern consists of needs for certain categories of goods and services for the satisfaction of specific types of needs such as food, clothing, housing,education,reaction and convenience.
What evolution between the young and the old they both have to make decision to purchase a product duct following the above sequence. This sequence however is influenced by the type of products that is purchased. This is where now the difference between the youth and elderly emerge in the modern times. The youth will like to purchase technologically changed products while some elderly people will like remain with what they know. However I must note that educated elderly people are moving at almost the same pace with the young people.
References
Armstrong G. & Kotler P. (2007). Consumer Markets: Influences on consumer behavior, Principles of Marketing.
Evans, M., Jamal, A. and Foxall, G.; (2006); Consumer Behaviour. Wiley.
Hawkins, D. I., Mothersbaugh, D. L. and Best, R. J. (2007); Consumer Behaviour- Building Marketing Strategy. McGraw-Hill International Edition.
Henry Assael (2004); Consumer Behaviour- A strategic Approach. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Kotler, P. (2005) Principles of Marketing. New York. Melbourne Press.
Schaik J.L., (2002); The Task of Marketing Management; J.L. van Schaik (Pity) ltd.
Michael D. Hutt and Thomas W. Spech; (2006); Business Marketing Management, A strategy of industrial and organizational markets.
Wickham p (2001) strategic entrepreneurship 2nd Edition, financial Times. Prentice hall.
Winer, R.S. (2007). Marketing Management, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Wyne D. Hoyer and Deborah J. MacInnis (2004); Consumer Behaviour Houghton Mifflin Company.