Consumer Behavior Analysis - Socio-Cultural Factors PDF

**UNIT II SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS** **Buyer's Black Box Model** The stimuli that is presented to the consumer by the marketer and the environment is then dealt with by the buyer's black box. The buyer's black box, comprises two sub components, viz., the buyer's characteristics and the buyer decisio...

**UNIT II SOCIO-CULTURAL FACTORS** **Buyer's Black Box Model** The stimuli that is presented to the consumer by the marketer and the environment is then dealt with by the buyer's black box. The buyer's black box, comprises two sub components, viz., the buyer's characteristics and the buyer decision process. The buyer's characteristics could be personal, psychological, cultural and social. In Learning: The BLACK BOX of a Buyer Figure 1: Model of Buyer Behavior Source: Kotler, P., Marketing Management, 11th edition, Prentice-Hall India, a**) Personal:** -age & life-cycle stage (family life cycle: single, newly married couples, full nest I, full nest II, full nest III, empty nest I, empty nest II, solitary survivor -occupation (occupation affects consumption patterns) -economic situation -lifestyle (pattern of living as Activities, Interest, Opinions, AIOs) -personality (personality is defined in terms of traits; these are psychological characteristics which lead to relatively consistent patterns of behavior towards the environment) & self-concept (self-concept is reflective of identity; how a person perceives himself including attitudes, perceptions, beliefs etc). Products and brands also have a personality; consumers are likely to choose such brands whose personalities match their own self. **b) Psychological:** -motivation (motives; urge to act to fulfil a goal or satisfy a need/want) -perception (ability to sense the environment and give meaning to it through the mechanisms of selection, organization and interpretation). -learning (a relatively permanent change in behavior as a result of ones' experience; relates to memory; learning could be experiential based on direct experience or conceptual based on indirect experience; consumer learning could be based on marketing communication/seller provided information, personal word of mouth and/or experiential). -beliefs (thoughts that a person holds about something; these are subjective perceptions about how a person feels towards an object/person/situation) and attitudes (a favorable or unfavorable disposition/feeling towards an object, person or a situation). **c) Cultural:** -culture (a sum total of values, knowledge, beliefs, myths, language, customs, rituals and traditions that govern a society). Culture exerts the broadest and the deepest influence; eg. Influences on our eating patterns, clothing, day to day living etc. Cultural influences are handed down from one generation to the next and are learned and acquired). -sub-culture (subset of culture: smaller groups of people within culture with shared value systems within the group but different from other groups; identifiable through demographics). -social class: ordered and relatively permanent divisions/startifications in the society into upper, middle lower classes; members in a class share similar values, interests, lifestyles and behaviors; the division is based on combination of occupation, income, education, wealth, and other variables. **d) Social:** -family: most important influence; (there occurs in a family what is referred to as socialization; family of orientation: parents and siblings; family of procreation: spouse and children; further some decisions are husband dominated, some are wife dominated and some are joint; roles played by family members), family life cycle (stages through which a family evolves; People's consumption priorities change and they buy different goods and services over a lifetime). -friends and peers, colleagues. -groups: reference groups {these are people to whom an individual looks as a basis for personal standards; they are formal and informal groups that influence buying behavior; reference groups could be direct (membership groups) or indirect (aspirational groups); reference groups serve as information sources, influence perceptions, affect an individual's aspiration levels; they could stimulate or constrain a person's behavior}. \- opinion leaders (they influence the opinion of others based on skills, expertise, status or personality). -roles & status: the role refers to the expected activities and status is the esteem given to role by society. Research and studies into these factors can provide a marketer with knowledge that can help him serve the consumers more effectively. These characteristics affect the buying decision process, which comprises five steps: a. **Problem recognition**: This is the first stage where a person recognizes that there is a problem or a need to fulfill. This may either be an actual state (AS Type), where a problem has arisen and needs to be sorted out; the product is failing, or the consumer is running short of it, and thus needs a replacement. A problem could also be a desired state (DS Type), where there is an imbalance between the actual state and the desired state; another product seems better and superior to the one that is being currently used, and so the consumer wants to buy it. A need could be triggered off by an internal stimulus or an external stimulus. Marketers need to identify what could trigger a particular need. Culture may be defined as the "personality of a society". It is broad and all pervasive in nature, inclusive of language, customs and traditions, norms and laws, religion, art and music, etc. It also includes the interests of people, the work practices and orientations, as also their attitudes towards general and specific issues. Culture delineates precisely, the do's and dont's of a society, and specifies all that is acceptable and all that is not. It is reflective of values and beliefs that are widely accepted by members of a society. The members of a society subscribe to the various values, beliefs and norms, and this gives strength to a society's culture. This does not imply that cultures are truly rigid; in fact, they evolve and adapt to changing situations and times. The culture of a society also has a bearing on buying patterns and consumption behaviour. In terms of consumer behaviour, Schiffman defines culture as "*the sum total of learned* *beliefs, values, and customs that serve to direct the consumer behaviour of members of a* *particular society"*. The kinds of products and services and/or brands that consumers' buy and use, are all based on their cultures and sub-cultures. For example, the food they eat and the kinds of clothes they buy and wear, are all impacted by their culture, their customs, traditions, norms and values. Culture is learned as part of social experience and passed on from one generation to another. Children acquire from their environment a set of beliefs, values, and customs that constitute culture (i.e., they are encultured). These are acquired through formal learning, informal learning, and technical learning. Advertising enhances formal learning by reinforcing desired modes of behaviour and expectations; it enhances informal learning by providing models for behaviour. CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE ========================== Culture and its impact on consumption behaviour can be better explained by understanding the nature and characteristics of culture: **a) *Culture is natural and permeates naturally into the social system*:** It inbreeds into the members of a social system and is all-pervasive. It influences the manner in which a person behaves, as consciously or sub-consciously, we are all governed by culture. Not only do people use their values and beliefs to govern their behaviour, but they also except that others' behaviour would also be similar and consistent (as culture is shared). Culture unites the members of a social system. In terms of consumer behaviour, the kinds of food we buy and eat or the clothes that we purchase and wear are all governed by the socialization process. Similar is with respect to other purchases that we make. Culture encompasses the general and specific patterns of consumption behaviour. **b) *Culture helps in satisfaction of needs*:** In fact, it exists as it helps satisfy the needs of people. Beliefs, values, customs and tradition, help govern the social system, and specify the manner in which people in a social system should behave; they delineate the do's and don't's, and thereby create boundaries of acceptable behaviour in the social system. However, such values, beliefs, customs and traditions continue to exist as long as they meet the needs of the people in the society. That is why culture evolves with passage of time. As the needs of the people evolve, beliefs, values, customs and tradition also undergo change so as to meet and match with newer needs and wants. For example, in earlier times, people preferred eating their whole meals at home. In fact, eating out was considered unhealthy and undesirable. With a change in society, and the emergence of dual income households, people have begun eating out of home; the fast food culture is in. This has given a boost to the fast food and restaurant industry. Thus, we see that when a value system fails to satisfy the members of a social system, it is adapted, changed and/or modified to suit newer social patterns and trends. **c) *Culture is not inborn; it is learnt as a result of the socialization process*:** There occurs a socialization process right from one's childhood, a process that continues throughout life. Culture is imparted by this socialization process. This learning of culture could be of two kinds; viz., enculturation and acculturation. The process of learning one\'s native culture is known as enculturation, while the process of learning a new or a foreign culture is known as acculturation. We are impacted by our family (family of orientation and family of procreation), as well as our friends throughout our life. People learn from family and friends about what are acceptable and what is not in terms of our values and beliefs. Cultural learning could take place in three forms, viz., formal learning, informal learning and technical learning. - Formal learning: when a child is taught how to behave by family, viz., grandparents, parents and siblings; they tell him about the right's and wrong's in behavior. - Informal learning: when the child learns by imitating the behavior of others, be it members in the family, or friends, or celebrities, or characters. - Technical learning: when the child is taught how to behave in a formal educational environment by a teacher. The kind of products/services consumers buy are ultimately determined by culture as well. For example, in certain cultures, eating pork and beef is a taboo; thus, when McDonalds came to India, they had to introduce the chicken burger, instead of the normal beef burger sold in the US. They could not disregard the vegetarian population of the country and so introduced the veg-tikki burger. Marketers should design the product and service offerings (including the 4Ps), in line with the culture so as to be able to gain quicker acceptance. The colors, language and symbols, should all be kept in mind. The marketer could use all the three forms of cultural learning through designing appropriate promotional messages and using an appropriate channel. **d) *Culture is shared***: It is accepted and imbibed by all the members of the social system. In fact, it ties together the people that form a social system. Social institutions (family), educational institutions (schools, colleges and universities), political institutions (law, public policy, leaders and government), and religious institutions (like places of worship, artefacts, and religious leaders) etc., all help in transmitting this culture to the members of the society. The mass media -print and audio-visual, also has a role to play in the transmitting of culture. Also, these days cultures and sub-cultures are shared by people within, and outside. Needless to say, the mass media has a big role to play. We get to see stories on families from Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi and Tamilian cultures; the dressing patterns, the favourite dishes, the customs and rituals etc. With the various national and regional channels that we have in India, we have begun to share sub-cultures too. An important role on spread of culture is also through advertisements. Today there is demand for *dhokla* and *khakra* (Gujarati food) in North India, or *mishti doi* and *hilsa fish* (Bengali food) in South India. This trend is also increasing because people are crossing borders of their states and moving elsewhere for jobs and assignments. **e) *Culture is dynamic in nature, and evolves constantly with time:*** It adapts itself to the changing environment. As said above, values, beliefs, customs and traditions continue to exist as long as they satisfy the needs and wants of the people. Once they cease to satisfy people's needs, they change. Thus, culture changes and adapts to the environment. Marketers need to continually assess the environment so as to identify changing need patterns, and change/modify/adapt existing products and services, and even come up with new ones. One such example, i.e. dual income households and the need for eating out, resulting in demand for fast food and restaurants. With changes in culture, we can also witness its impact on the buying roles. The marketers have to identify the initiators, influencers, deciders, buyers and users, and approach them accordingly, either personally or impersonally via media. Marketers who continually assess the environment can identify opportunities and exploit them to their advantage. ***f) Cultures are similar and yet different:*** All the cultures across the world will address certain common or similar aspects. For example, a few of the elements found in most of the societies could be calendar, cooking, education, family, rituals, customs etc. However, in each society there could be variations in the nature and practice of these elements. An understanding of this will help the marketers in formulating various marketing strategies. ***g) Culture is gratifying and continues for a long time:*** The society rewards people whose behaviour are gratifying for its members. In India, people have a lot of faith in the preaching of various religious heads. These religious heads are able to communicate and speak about the customs, traditional values and beliefs to the public through religious discourses. Such people are given due importance and recognition for contribution to the welfare of the society. The respect and gratification for those who continue this practice goes down from generation to generation. This is also a part of our culture. ***h) Culture is perspective***: It involves the understanding of the behaviour and pattern of an individual, so that they must have common understanding of the right and proper way to think and act on it. ELEMENTS/ COMPONENTS OF CULTURE =============================== Culture is reflected through the various components that it comprises, viz., values, language, myths, customs, rituals and laws. These are briefly explained as follows: **1) *Values*:** Values are the beliefs and ideals shared by the people of a society, for which they have great respect and regard. They could assume both positive (do's) and negative (dont's) connotations, and are indicative of appropriate thoughts, feelings and acts of behaviour. For example "Nescafe coffee" has been used in the sense of optimism among young in its new advertising campaign. **2) *Language*:** Man is a social animal and needs to communicate with others. Language is used as a means to communicate with people in a social set up. It is the common language that binds together the people in a social structure. Marketers must know all the languages of his potential geographical segments , so that they can sell their products to customers of different cultures having different languages. **3) *Myths*:** Myths are legendary folktales and stories that describe events and occurrences, and teach values to society. They are imaginary and fictitious, and comprise characters that are gods, heroes and common men, ultimately aimed at giving lessons to the people, with respect to the causes and effects, good and bad, right and wrong, etc. Myths describe the values that members of a social structure should share. **4) *Customs*:** Customs are habitual practices that formulate the established way of doing things and reflect culturally accepted patterns of behaviour. They reflect practices that have permanent, continuance and are so long established that they have the force of law; in other words they are conventions. People in a social system follow such practices collectively, and the habitual activity gets transmitted from one generation to another. For example, giving or taking gifts on certain occasions. **5) *Rituals*:** Rituals are prescribed processes and procedures for conduct of religious or social rites. They are established rites, ceremonies and proceedings that are symbolic in nature. Rituals are collective in nature, comprising many patterns of behaviour that are interdependent to each other. For example, Red roses on Valentine's Day, cards on birthdays etc. **6) *Laws*:** Laws are principles, rules and regulations that are formulated/sanctioned by an authority (ruler, government, constitution etc.), and supported/protected by judicial authority. Their basis can actually be found in the society's values, customs, and rituals. Laws are universally applicable across people in a society/country. They are written collection of rules and regulations to be adhered to by the people, and non-adherence to which would lead to legal action from the judiciary. For example, in Hindu Marriage Act a person can marry only one woman at a time but that is different in other acts based on their religion. MEASUREMENT OF CULTURE ====================== Culture can be measured through use of many techniques, some of which are discussed below. These techniques are used to study and assess cultural patterns, changes and trends. **i) *Projective Tests*:** Projective tests can be traced to the psychoanalytic psychology, which argue that human beings have conscious and unconscious attitudes, motivations and personalities that are hidden and unknown from conscious awareness. The projective tests attempt to measure underlying traits, fears, anxieties and attitudes, motivations and personalities. They help reveal people's orientations towards the cultural values, myths, customs, traditions and rituals. The participants are shown pictures, images, cartoons and characters, inkblots and incomplete sentences/paragraphs to understand, interpret and comprehend them. The participants are asked to give as responses all that first comes into their minds. Gestures and body language, tone of voice and other reactions are also noted. The assumption behind use of such tests is that one tends to project and interpret to these ambiguous stimuli from ones' sub-consciousness. Such tests are used to study motivation and personality. The two commonly used tests are the Rorschach Inkblot Test and the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). **ii) *Attitude measurement tests and techniques*:** Attitude measurement tests and techniques are used to measure attitudes of people towards persons, objects, and situations. They reflect people's attitudes and orientations towards the cultural values, myths, customs, traditions and rituals. **iii) *Content analysis*:** Content analysis focuses on the examination of verbal, written, nonverbal and pictorial compositions/communication. The content analysis helps reveal and explain the content of messages and the varying interpretations. Assessment about the society, and its culture as well as evolutionary socio-cultural changes can be gauged through the content of verbal, written, non-verbal and pictorial compositions/communication. ***iv)Consumer fieldwork:*** Fieldwork may be conducted on consumers, so as to observe their behaviour, and draw generalizations about the values, myths, beliefs, customs, traditions and rituals. Such generalizations are drawn on observable in store shopping behavior. Verbal and non-verbal body language are also observed and recorded. Sometimes, instead of being passive observers, the researchers may assume active roles and interact with the consumers (participants) as salespersons. Interviews and focus group sessions may also be used. **v) *Value measurement instruments*:** Researchers today, are increasingly making use of value measurement instruments. These are scales that measure values by means of a questionnaire. Participants are asked to give their opinion on varied issues like peace, freedom and independence, comfort and convenience, ambition and success etc. Through interpretation of their responses and the observation of behavior, researchers can infer the dominant or underlying values of the society. Such values would influence general and specific consumption patterns and buying behavior. Commonly used value measurement instruments are the Rokeach Value Survey, the List of Values (LOV), and the Values and Lifestyles---VALS. **SUB-CULTURE** While culture is defined as the "personality of a society", (inclusive of language, customs and traditions, norms and laws, religion, art and music, etc), it is not entirely homogenous in nature. Not all people within a social system share the same language, religion, customs and traditions. Every society is composed of smaller sub-units, homogenous within, and heterogeneous outside, all of which when put together make a complex society. Such sub-units or sub-groups are known as sub-cultures; people within sub-cultures possess distinctive sets of values, beliefs, customs and traditions etc. The members of a subculture possess such values and beliefs, as also customs and traditions that set them apart from people belonging to other sub-cultures. For example, while we are all Indians, and our culture is Indian (with a common national language, Hindi, and common festivals like Diwali), North Indians are different from South Indians. While North Indians, celebrate Lohri, as a harvest festival in January, the South Indians celebrate Pongal as their harvest festival at the same time. In other words, people within smaller units share the same language, religion, customs and traditions; and, this would be different in smaller or larger magnitude to people in other sub-units. A single culture can be broken up into various consumer subcultures. A subculture can be defined as a culture that is not dominant in its society. As consumers from various subcultures, we are different to each other. We have varying values and beliefs, customs and traditions, etc. These get reflected in our perspectives and orientations that influence our purchase patterns and consumption behaviour. That is why a study of sub-culture becomes important for a marketer. TYPES OF SUB-CULTURE ==================== Based on the varying criteria, there can be different types of sub-cultures. From a marketing perspective, these sub-cultures could also be discussed as market segments, which need to be studied and assessed carefully before deciding on a product/service offering and formulating a marketing mix for a particular segment(s). Following are the various types of sub-cultures: **1) Nationality:** Sub-cultures could be based on nationality. While we are all Asians, we are distinct with respect to culture, and are different in terms of language, customs and traditions etc. Thus, we are classified as Indians, Burmese, Nepalese, and Pakistani etc. **2) Geographical location:** Within a country, we could be different across geography, climatic conditions, regions and terrains, and density of population. This is more so in cases where the country is large and borders spread across a huge population occupying a vast territory. People tend to develop regional affinity and identification, and this gets reflected in the food they eat, clothes they wear, interests they pursue, etc. They constitute as distinct sub-cultures and people across such sub-cultures are different to each other. For example, we can be classified as North Indians and South Indians. As consumers, our needs are different and would translate into various wants, for example, i) differences in food habits, and demand for poori-sabji, paratha, idli-vada etc.; or ii) differences in clothing, and demand for cottons, woollens and silk. **3) Religion:** People also exhibit differences when it comes to the religion that they belong to. Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Parsi etc. are all different from one another and have different values and beliefs, customs and traditions etc. As consumers, they make purchase choices and purchase decisions that are influenced by the dictates of their religious leaders, scriptures, and holy books. In fact, many products/services are symbolically and ritualistically associated with religion. For example, as per Islam, non-vegetarian food must be "Halal", and this itself comprises a huge segment that marketers across national boundaries are catering to. **4) Race and caste:** Culture and its components also vary across race and caste. Jats, Jaats, Rajputs, Pathans and Yadavs are all different from one another. Such racial sub- cultures also impact buying behaviour and consumption patterns. **5) Gender:** Because gender roles have an impact on acts of behaviour, gender constitutes an important cultural sub-group. Males and females across all cultures are assigned different traits and characteristics that make them masculine and feminine. They also perform different roles in society and are two distinct sub-groups. It is true that gender roles have got blurred, and both men and women are performing such roles that they did not perform earlier. Product usage is common to both man and woman; for example, a man shown as using a LG washing machine or making Act II popcorn. Similarly products like shavers and razors exclusive to usage by men, are also being used by women (Gillette thus introduced a razor 'Venus' for women). All this has brought about a big socio-economic change and led to cultural transformation. The values espoused by the generation of today is much different to the one espoused by the previous generation. The pace of change has been further accelerated with households no longer being single income households, but turned to dual-income households. The role of women is no longer restricted to bearing children and managing the home. Women have started working outside, and are contributing to household income. This has impacted consumer needs and wants as also the priorities. The impact is evidenced on consumption behaviour, where the 'decider' role is no longer confined to a single person, i.e. the man of the family. Today buying decisions are jointly taken by husband and wife. **6) Age:** Infants, kids, teenagers and adolescents, adults and the aged, may all be looked up as distinct sub-groups. They have different values and beliefs, and all this impacts upon their priorities in life. Daily lifestyles, activities and interests, fashion and accessories, food and diet, etc. receive varying priorities across the various sub-groups. For example, an aged person would prioritize health and go in for nutritious home food as opposed to young man who would prioritize work and go in for fast food. Today we see a rising trend amongst kids, adolescents and the young towards junk food, and they constitute a lucrative segment for restaurants providing fast food. CROSS-CULTURE ============= As a result of rapid advancement and all-round development, we find ourselves exposed to people from various cultures. There has been a great deal of opening up, and the society has been impacted on all fronts, be it social, economic, cultural or technological. The cultural fabric has undergone a transformation and we see changes in our values and beliefs, customs and traditions, etc. As consumers also, we have been exposed to other cultures. We have inculcated/adopted values and beliefs, perspectives and orientations that are much different to what existed earlier. The past decade particularly, has seen changes with respect to what we eat, what we wear and how we behave. The marketer needs to go in for a study of the socio-cultural fabric of the respective country where he intends to enter and serve. He needs to have an understanding of the consumption pattern and the consumption behaviour across people from different cultures. He needs to assess the needs and wants as well as priorities and orientations of the people that he desires to serve. Schiffman defines cross cultural consumer analysis or cross cultural marketing as "the effort to determine to what extent the consumers of two or more nations are similar or different." The marketer must understand how consumers in targeted countries are similar and dissimilar from each other. It is important for a marketer to have this understanding as it helps him assess the social and cultural similarities and dissimilarities so that he can design appropriate marketing programs and strategies for such segment(s). CROSS CULTURAL INFLUENCES ========================= Today with the nations in the world getting closer, international marketing or cross cultural marketing has become popular. Nevertheless, cultural diversity continues to exist between the various countries. So the marketer must understand the cultural variances and nuances and respond to them in a way that is appealing to the consumer of that country. The success stories of companies such as Hindustan Unilever Ltd, (HUL), Procter & gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Kellogs, Coca-cola, IBM, Pizza Hut, Pizza Corner, McDonalds etc. Shows how they have indentified the cultural variations and suitably modified their marketing strategy to suit Indian consumer's requirement.They typically need to 'Think Global act Local. - **Relevance of Cross Culture for Marketers** A cross-cultural consumer analysis helps the marketer assess the market potential and customer reaction for his product and service offering. People's values and beliefs, customs and traditions, as also perspectives and orientations have a bearing on customer's needs, wants and priorities, finally translating into their desire for product and service offerings. These would vary across nations and cultures, and marketers must thus go through an acculturation process. As has been defined earlier, acculturation is defined as the process of learning a new or a foreign culture. It is essential that they learn about the culture of foreign countries, what their needs and wants are, how they prioritize them, how they form attitudes and opinions, etc. Thus, before taking decisions with respect to entering foreign cultures, and the manner in which they should be served, a marketer should conduct a cross-cultural consumer analysis. Such an analysis provides a marketer with inputs as to how he should be modifying his 4Ps so as to elicit quick adoption and diffusion of his product and service offering. Every component of culture should be carefully studied and a marketing program designed accordingly. \- Product names or brands should not have double meanings; they should not be insensitive in any manner, and they should not hurt the sentiments of people in the country where the marketer is planning to enter. \- They should be easy to remember, recall and pronounce. Else marketers should make sure that they help consumers remember and pronounce such names. For example, when Perfetti Van Melle India launched their candy Alpenliebe, they designed an advertisement that had a jingle that helped consumers pronounce the name. \- They should be distinct and not duplicate names already existing in the foreign country. \- The marketer must make sure that the product or service offering appeals to the needs and wants of people from foreign cultures. \- Marketer must make sure that he keeps in mind local customs and traditions while formulating the strategy. \- While taking decisions on packaging and labelling as also design of advertisements, he must make sure of colours and symbols. Colours and symbols have varied meanings and connotations. The marketer should be careful that he should not be insensitive to people of foreign cultures. \- Marketers must make sure that they employ local (foreign) people for sales and marketing in foreign cultures. They should avoid sending their own people as the latter would take time to be acculturated. It would be better if local people are hired who would know the language, customs, tradition etc, and with whom the customers would be more comfortable. They would also be in a position to make localized decisions. Through a cross-cultural analysis, a marketer would get inputs into how the foreign culture is different to his native culture. When customers across two or more countries are similar, the marketer can afford to have a similar marketing program; in case they are different, he would have to adapt his 4Ps and design a separate individualized marketing strategy for the foreign country. The relevance of a cross cultural analysis for a marketer is summarized as follows: \- A cross-cultural consumer analysis helps predict customer reaction to a product and service offering; the marketer would get to assess the market potential and assess the viability of a segment(s).The marketer would get inputs into how the foreign culture is different to his native culture. This would help him decide whether to have a marketing program similar to the one that is present in the native country or to have a program that is 'individualized' to the foreign country. \- It would help him to position his product/service offering appropriately, keeping in mind the values and beliefs, customs and traditions, attitudes, opinions and lifestyles. \- It provides a marketer with inputs as to how he should be modifying his 4Ps so as to elicit quick adoption and diffusion of his product and service offering. This is particularly relevant for products that would be new to a foreign culture, and where the consumers would have to be taught about their importance and usage. The marketer would have to educate the consumers about such a product/service offering (cognition), create a favourable opinion and positive feelings (affect), and convince adoption and purchase (behaviour). i. **Hierarchical structure**: Social class is hierarchical in nature. The social-class categories are ranked in a hierarchy that ranges from low to high. Based on education, occupation and income, the society is divided into various ranks, such that people in a particular rank are similar to others in the same rank and different across various ranks. So members of a particular social class view themselves as a) having a status similar to others in their own class; and b) having a status high or low than members of the higher or lower class. Based on the social class, they view themselves equal to other (in the same social class), inferior to others (from higher social class), and superior to others (from lower social class). The hierarchical structure holds relevance for a marketer. \- First, marketers can use this as a basis to segment the market; the various strata provide a basis for market segmentation. \- Two, when people are "other-directed" or susceptible to social influence, they would buy such products and services and/or brands that people from their respective social classes purchase. This is because they look for social approval. So they would purchase certain products and service offerings and/or brands because they are used and favored by members of their own class. \- Third, people are class conscious and relate brands to their social class; thus, they would buy brands which they feel relate to their "class", and would avoid brands that they relate to "lowerclass\" products. There are social-class influences on the actual consumption of products. -Fourth, the higher social class or the upper social class also acts as reference groups, for people in the lower class. The latter aspire to emulate the former and desire buying products and brands which the former buy. ii**) Similarity of people within a social class:** People within a social class are similar to each other. This similarity is not only witnessed in terms of their education, occupation and income, but also their thinking, values, norms, attitudes, lifestyle and behavioral patterns. There is similarity among members within each social class and dissimilarity with between social classes. **CONSUMER GROUPS** The term "group", may be defined as two or more people who interact with each in order to achieve mutually agreed upon goals; such goals may relate to an individual or to the many who get together for the achievement of such goals. When we speak of consumer groups, we refer to individuals or group of individuals or the family who have a need and desire purchasing a good or service so as to fulfill the need and derive satisfaction. While speaking of groups, it becomes necessary to understand the various kinds of groups. Groups may be i) small or large; ii) formal or informal (based on purpose of formation, legitimacy and structure of reporting relationships). So far as consumer behavior is concerned, the focus lies on small informal groups. This is because small groups are more cohesive in nature, there is more of interaction and the members can influence the purchase patterns and consumption behavior of each other. Groups may be classified on various bases like i) number and size; ii) regularity of contact; and iii) structure and hierarchy. The various types of consumer groups are as follows: i. **Primary and Secondary Groups:** The distinction between primary and secondary groups is based on the significance/relevance of the group to an individual, and the frequency of interaction between group members. Based on the regularity of contact and the importance given to subsequent interaction, groups may be classified as primary and secondary. When people interact with each other on a regular basis, and regard each others' opinions as valuable and significant, they are said to constitute a primary group; an individual who interacts with others regularly, is said to be a member of that primary group. For example, family, neighbours, work peers, co-workers and colleagues. Secondary groups, on the other hand, are those, where the level of interaction is infrequent, irregular and occasional, and not much of value is given to other's judgments and beliefs. When a person interacts with others on an occasional basis, he is said to be a constituent of a secondary group. So far as consumer behavior is concerned, the focus lies on primary groups. ii. **Formal and Informal Groups**: Based on the group structure and membership, roles and norms, as well as purpose of formation, groups may be classified as formal and informal groups. When the group structure and membership (membership roll list), roles (various positions, like president, secretary etc), group norms (do's and don'ts) and the reason for existence (goals of the group) are clearly defined, the group is said to be a formal group. On the other hand, when the group structure, roles and norms as even the purpose of the group are ill defined, or not defined at all, they are said to constitute an informal group. So far as consumer behavior is concerned, informal groups are of greater relevance to a marketer because with ill defined structures, and lesser of rules and regulations, there is greater opportunity for interaction between the members, better exchange of information and greater influence of each other on consumption patterns and behavior. iii. **Membership and Symbolic Groups**: Groups can also be classified on the basis of membership as membership groups and symbolic groups. When a person belongs to a group by virtue of membership or even if he merely qualifies for a membership to that group, it is called a membership group. On the other hand, when a person does not form a part of a group and/or does not qualify to be a member of the group, but nonetheless adopts the values, norms and patterns of behavior similar to members of the group, he is said to be a member of a symbolic group. In consumer behavior, the focus lies on membership groups. To sum up, the focus in consumer behavior lies on small, informal, primary membership groups because such groups have the maximum influential impact on consumption patterns and consumption behavior. **REFERENCE GROUPS** It is a natural tendency on the part of an individual to look up to another as with comparison; each one of us looks towards another individual or a group as a point of comparison. This group to which a person looks up as a point of comparison is known as a reference group. A reference group may be a person or a group to which an individual looks up as a frame of reference for his general and specific acts of behavior, values, opinions, attitudes etc. The reference person or the reference group exercises tremendous influence on an individual. This is true for consumer behavior as well. A consumer always has with him in his conscious and sub-conscious state, a person or a group that he looks up to as a reference point. Consumer actually look up to reference groups because: a\) He desires information before he actually decides to go in for the purchase of a product and service offering. As reference groups are regarded as impartial and have no hidden agenda like salespersons, consumers trust the former more than the latter. b\) He wants social approval for the product/services purchased or the brands bought, and he feels that once he has this approval from the reference group, he would not face any kind of social embarrassment. c\) He feels that he would be much at ease if he does something that others approve of. The reference group exercises impact on the manner in which a consumer selects, purchases and uses a product or service offerings and/or brands. He influences the purchase decision making process as also the purchase decisions, consumption patterns and resultant behavior. It is noteworthy that consumers have different reference groups; he may look towards one for guidance and advice of one product, and he may look towards another for purchase of another product. Gradually, the consumer begins to adopt the standards and norms used by the reference group(s) and behaves like them. Thus, marketers make effective use of reference groups in bringing about changes in a consumer's thinking and purchasing pattern. **Types of Reference Groups** Broadly speaking, based on the kind of contact (regularity, frequency, direct/indirect), reference groups could be of two kinds, viz., primary reference groups and secondary reference groups. Such group(s) with which a person has a direct (face-to-face) contact and where a direct influence occurs, is known as a primary reference group(s). For example, family, friends, neighbours, superiors, peers, colleagues etc. At the time of its origin, reference groups were narrowly defined so as to include only such groups. Gradually the concept broadened to include both direct and indirect influences. So such group(s) with which a person has an indirect contact and where an indirect influence occurs, is known as a secondary reference group. For example, movie stars and celebrities, sportsmen, successful business men, political leaders, religious leaders etc. Based on the kind of influence that they have, reference groups can also be classified as normative reference groups and comparative reference groups. Those groups that influence general or broadly defined values, attitudes and/or behavior are known as normative reference groups. For example, for a child the family acts as a normative reference group; the parents (as family of orientation) have a big role to play in making us understand our value system as well as our acts of good and bad behavior. The parents teach the child his mannerisms, as well as what he should eat, how he should dress, and how he should behave. On the other hand, those groups that influence and serve as standards for specific or narrowly defined values, attitudes and/or behavior are known as comparative reference groups. For example, for the same child, his friend's family or a neighbor may constitute a comparative reference group. The child desires emulating their lifestyles, customs, traditions etc, which he finds exciting, admirable and praiseworthy (and something which may be very different from his own). In terms of consumer behavior, the normative reference group may exert influence on the kinds of products that should be bought e.g. hygienic food, clean clothes, fresh fruits and vegetables etc. The comparative reference group may exert influence in terms of the things like junk food versus traditional food, fashion and fad as also the latest styles etc. Both normative and comparative reference groups have relevance for a marketer. While the former set the basic norms of behavior in terms of products to purchase, the latter is more specific in terms of brands to buy; in fact the latter depends on the former; i.e. the specific acts of behavior are governed by the general. Based on i) membership and level of involvement; as well as ii) the kind of influence (positive or negative) they have on values, attitudes, and behavior, reference groups may be classified into four categories , viz., contactual groups, aspirational groups, disclaimant groups, and avoidance groups. a. **Contactual Group:** A contactual group is defined as a group where people hold membership, meet face-to-face and have interaction, and where people abide by the values, norms, opinions and judgments that the group entails. This kind of a primary group has the maximum influence on a person, and his behavior. This has implications for a marketer in the sense that such groups impact purchase patterns and consumption behavior. b. **Aspirational Group**: An aspirational group is one in which a person does not have a membership, and does not interact face-to-face, but he aspires to become a member. The group values and norms have a positive impact on the person, who desires membership to such a group. In terms of consumer behavior, these are secondary groups and impact a consumer's ideal self or desired self-concept. c. **Disclaimant Group**: Here, a person holds membership with the group, but does not believe in the values, norms, attitudes and behavior of the group and its members. So the person acts as a deviant and behaves in a manner that is in opposition to how others in the group behave. In terms of consumer behavior, such people are referred to as inner- directed (an also detached), who want to set their own norms and patterns of behavior. These people could also act as innovators. d. **Avoidance Group:** As the term denotes, this group is one where a person does not have membership, and he also disapproves of the values, norms, attitudes and behavior. He adopts such values and behavior that are in opposition to those that the group believes in. The **factors** that impact reference group influence on consumption behavior are explained as follows: i**) Information and Experience**: The amount of knowledge and experience an individual possesses or has the capacity to possess determines the impact that the reference group can generate. A person who has information about a product and service offering, the brand, and the 4 Ps, and also possess some experience, would not look for advice from his reference groups, and it is unlikely that he would be carried away by advice from others. On the other hand, a person who is little or no knowledge and also lacks experience, would look towards primary and secondary reference groups for help and advice. ii. **Power, credibility, and trustworthiness:** The impact that a reference group can generate also depends upon how powerful, credible and trustworthy the reference group is. When a reference group is powerful, and regarded as credible and trustworthy, there is greater probability of it being able to influence people. A person who looks towards reference groups for information and advice about product and service offerings as also brands, always examines the credibility and trustworthiness of the group. He may also be fearful of the power of the reference group and would go by group-say out of fear or to avoid any undesirable consequences. He may also be looking for social approval and acceptance of others in his reference group. The probability of he being persuaded by such reference groups is high. iii. **Conformance with group and social approval**: When a consumer is other- directed or socially directed, and looks towards others for social approval, he generally conforms to the advice given by members of his reference groups. This is because he wants to be identified with people whom he likes or whom he wants to be associated with. Thus, he would conform to the product and service and/or brand suggested by members of their reference group. iv. **Visibility and Conspicuousness of the Product**: The impact of reference groups also depends on the visibility and conspicuousness of a product. When a product offering is visible and conspicuous, such that it relates to esteem and is status revealing (fashion apparel, carpets and upholstery, jewellery and other luxurious items), the consumer tends to be conscious while purchasing it especially because of reaction of others (fear of social disapproval, social embarrassment). Thus, he would buy such keeping in mind the advice, likes and dislikes of reference group. When the product is low on public visibility and conspicuousness, one is less likely to be influenced by the reference group. **FAMILY IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR** The term "family" refers to the basic sociological unit. The term has been used to denote two or more people staying together and related to each other by blood or marriage. The composition, size and structure (in terms of roles and statuses) has undergone a change across time and culture. There have been large families including grandparents, parents, children, uncles, aunts and cousins (all staying together as a joint family); and small families which comprise just parents with their children (nuclear family). Roles and statuses have also changed, with both men and women taking active part in making purchase decisions, and women playing roles which were earlier reserved for men and vice versa. Thus, the family as a social unit has varied in composition and structure, as well as the roles played by family members. It is noteworthy that from a marketers perspective while, families have been referred to as households, not all households are families. A household may also refer to a house that has just a single individual, or it might include individuals who are not related to each other such as friends, roommates, or work peers. Nevertheless. so far as consumer behavior is concerned, families and households are treated as synonymous. Today, what we see around us are three kinds of families, viz., the married couple, the nuclear family and the extended family. The married couple family comprises the husband and the wife, generally representative of couples who have recently got married and are yet to start a family. The nuclear family comprises husband, wife and their children. The extended family includes the nuclear family with grandparents or uncles and aunts. **Relevance of Family for Marketers** The family as a social unit is of tremendous importance for a marketer. This is because of three reasons, viz., a monetary source for dependents, an indication of values and lifestyles, and the root for socialization. **a) Monetary source**: The family may comprise a single earner or a dual earner; the rest of the members acts as dependents; It is father and/or mother who are the bread earners, and earn for the rest of the members (children) who act as dependents. While this role was restricted earlier to the man in the family, there is a transition, and today even the woman in the family is playing this role. As is seen the children and the teenagers comprise a major portion of the market as buyers of goods and services. While they desire product and service offerings, the money comes from the parents. Thus providing financial resources to the dependents and looking into their economic well being is a basic family function that the head of the family plays. **b) Values and lifestyles**: The parents in the family are also a source of values and lifestyles for the family. The grandparents and the parents in the family, inculcate among the children basic values and norms, and also tell them about suitable lifestyles. This has an impact on the children when it comes their day to day living, on their education, career, recreational activities, etc. With both parents earning and having occupations, and the family experiencing a dual income set up, a transition has been witnessed in lifestyles of children and dependents. Children are becoming independent day by day and becoming clearer about "what" they want; the brands they seek. People are also time-constrained and so seeking easy ways out. This has led to the emergence of products and services that are easily available, convenient to use and free of hassles. For example, there is the fast food industry, ready-to-eat packaged meals etc. **c) Socialization**: The concept of socialization has also been dealt with in the previous lesson. In fact, socialization of members' right from childhood to adulthood is the primary function that a family plays. As discussed before, the socialization takes place at two stages, one during childhood, as family of orientation, and two after marriage as family of procreation. This reflects itself in the values, lifestyles and overall modes of behavior of individuals; eg. the kind of food to eat, dresses to wear, customs and practices to follow etc. are all a result of the socialization process. Such socialization can be discussed at three levels: socialization at childhood, socialization at adulthood, and intergenerational socialization. - Socialization at childhood: Socialization during childhood takes place when children observe and later on replicate the behavior of the elders (grandparents, parents and older siblings) at home. The children are taught about the values and modes of behavior, directly through instruction and communication, and indirectly through observation of behavior by elders at home. As they replicate behavior, they are rewarded and the behavior gets reinforced. Thus, the family of orientation has an important role to play. Of importance to marketers is the manner in which children learn patterns of purchase and consumption behavior. As Schiffman defines, child socialization is the process by which children acquire the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary to function as consumers. Similar to other socialization, such knowledge about product and service offerings, as also brands and consumption behavior, is also learnt through observation of elders at home, be it parents or older siblings. However, as they grow up, their consumption behavior also gets influenced by friends, as well as reference groups (both direct and indirect). The process of socialization helps adopt shopping and buying skills of products and services, as also brands at dealer's outlets and stores. \- Socialization at adulthood: Socialization does not get restricted to childhood. It extends throughout the life of an individual, as an ongoing process. As a person grows up into adulthood, he interacts with his friend, colleague and work peers and is influenced by them. After he gets married, he starts a household once again and his consumption pattern and behavior is impacted by his spouse. As the newly married couple begins to settle down as a household, they make adjustments with each other with respect to values, lifestyles and modes of behavior. They also make adjustments and adapt themselves with respect to the likes and dislikes of each other, including preferences for product and service offerings as also brands. Once they have children, they begin to impact and are also impacted by them. Thus, just like the family of orientation, the family of procreation also has an important role to play. \- Intergenerational socialization: Values, lifestyles and behavior get transferred from one generation to another. So do preferences for product and services as also brands. We often see that people prefer certain brands, just because their parents preferred it over others. Product and brand loyalty as also preferences get transferred from one generation to another. This is referred to as intergenerational socialization. **Family and Buying Decision Process** Purchase decisions in the family are joint decisions made by the members of the family, be it husband, wife, children, or may be even members of the extended family. Thus the family is recognized not only as the basic social unit but also as the basic decision making unit. **Buying roles**: The members in the family play what is known as "buying roles," viz. the initiator, influencer, decider, buyer and user.It would be worthwhile to mention here that these roles may be played by a single person or by a few in the family. Also, these roles would vary across product and service offerings as also the buying situation. For some products, the male member of the house acts as the decider, while for others, the lady acts as a decider. **Reversal of Buying Roles**: However, with a large number of women taking to professions, men are no longer confined to their offices but are also taking up responsibility with household chores. With changing times, family roles have also undergone a change; most purchase decisions are joint decisions. Also those decisions which were earlier restricted to men, are being taken by women and vice versa. Marketers do address this issue when they depict through their ads, men washing clothes with Ariel or men making Act II popcorn. This shift in buying roles need to be well-understood by marketers as this change may ultimately affect the composition of target markets and segments. **Joint Decision Making in a Family:** As mentioned above, most purchase decisions are jointly made by the spouses together or with their children involved. While making purchase decisions and brand choices, the family may very often find itself in disagreement with one another. In such situations, the family members tend to influence each other to reach a consensus that makes everyone happy and leaves them satisfied. Purchase decisions between husband and wife have been studied at length. The influence today, is also getting impacted by changing roles in the social system, the lifestyle patterns as also occurrence of women liberation and dual-income households. In purchase decisions involving the family, children have a major role to play these days. They tend to influence family decision making with reference to both the purchase decision as also the brand choice. The behavior that they exhibit is more of an Influence that subsequently makes parents yield to their (children's) request. Children are influential for all kinds of products, be in icecreams or clothes or even cars, which they watch on TV. It has been seen that while certain products are not used by children, yet they are successful in influencing their parents in purchase decisions relating to them. Children who are little older are able to recall the ads and the brands; they are highly influential in helping parents' recall the brand at the time of purchase. **Resolving Consumer Conflict in a Family**: Researchers have particularly identified conflict reducing strategies between husband and wife. With income being limited, they could argue with each other with respect to the purchase decisions (to buy/or not buy), purchase choices (To buy Product X or Y), as also brand choices (To buy Brand X1 or X2). Let us take an example. A couple is interested in buying a new mobile set. They enter into an argument with respect to the brand to be purchased. They many adopt any of the strategies: A. **Expert:** The couple is buying a mobile set. The wife looks for looks, aesthetics and appeal and prefers a Samsung, while the husband looks into the robustness, durability, size and weight etc. and prefers a Nokia. Assuming that the husband has better idea about electronic products, he acts as an expert and influences his wife to agree to a decision taken by him. B. **Legitimacy:** If the man is the dominant force, they buy a Nokia; else they buy a Samsung. C. **Bargaining:** The couple is buying a mobile set. The husband favors a Nokia while the wife prefers a Samsung. The wife agrees to buy Nokia on the condition that next time they would buy Samsung. D. **Reward:** The husband tells his wife that if she agree on a Nokia, he would gift her a saree. E. **Emotional:** The wife acts emotionally and says that she desires a Samsung as her first handset gifted to her by her father was also a Samsung. So she gets sentimental about it. F. **Impression:** The husband brings in facts, and logic and persuades his wife to agree to buy a Nokia. **FAMILY LIFE CYCLE** The family life cycle has been defined as a series of stages through which most families' progress, with varying characteristics across varies stages; these characteristics relate to marital status, size of the family, the age profile of the family members (focusing on the age of the oldest and/or youngest child), the employment status of the head of household, the income level and the disposable income at hand. **Traditional Family Life Cycle:** Traditionally the life cycle, illustrated a progression of stages through which families passed; starting from bachelorhood (single), to married (couple), to family growth (parenthood: birth of children), to family contraction (grown up children leaving home for studies or employment) to post parenthood (all children leaving home) to dissolution (single survivor: death of one of the spouses). Based on these, the traditional FLC can be synthesized into five basic stages, which may be mentioned as follows: - Stage I: Bachelorhood: Young single adult (male/female) living apart from parents and into a livelihood. \- Stage II: Honeymooners: Young married couple. \- Stage III: Parenthood: Married couple with at least one child living with them at home. \- Stage IV: Postparenthood: An older married couple with no children living at home. Children have left home for studies or for employment. \- Stage V: Dissolution: One surviving spouse. These stages, consumption patterns and the product preferences are explained below: 1**. Stage I: Bachelorhood**: The stage comprises a young single adult (male/female) living apart from parents and into a livelihood. While incomes are low as they have just started a career, financial burdens and responsibilities are also low. As such bachelors have a high level of disposable income. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: They tend to spend their money on house rent, basic furniture and kitchen equipment. They are recreation oriented and like to spend on purchase of automobiles (particularly motor bikes), travel (trekking and holidays), adventure sports (motor racing, bungee jumping etc.), health clubs, clothes and fashion accessories). Implications for Marketers: Marketers realize that bachelors possess large disposable income; they find in them an attractive segment for sports, travel, entertainment and fun. 2**. Stage II: Honeymooners:** The stage comprises a newly married couple and continues till the first child is born. One of the spouses may be working or both may be working. They are financially better off than they would be in the next stages. If both are working, income is higher. If both are working, the couple has discretionary income at hand that permits a good lifestyle, and provides for purchases or savings. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: They tend to spend on creating a home for themselves. They spend on cars, furniture, curtains and upholstery, electronics, kitchen appliances and utensils, and vacations. Implications for Marketers: They form an attractive segment for the marketer as they form the highest purchase rate amongst segments. The highest average purchase of durables takes place in this stage. 3**. Stage III: Parenthood**: The stage comprises married couple with children. This stage extends for about a long 20-25 year period; and could be further broken up into three stages, viz., Full Nest I, Full Nest II and Full Nest III. Throughout these stages, the size and structure of the family gradually changes, so does income and expenses with varying priorities. The financial expenses increase rapidly with children being born in Full Nest I and gradually decrease as children become independent and self-supporting as one reaches Full Nest III \- Full Nest I: The youngest child in the family is six or below. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: While liquidity of cash is low, expenses are high. The family spends on baby food, diapers, medicines for cough and cold, doctor visits, child toys and games, school admissions and fees and insurance policies. There are increased expenses on child care. Implications for Marketers: At this stage, purchasing is at the peak, and so this is an attractive segment for the marketer. The children in the family begin to impact family purchases, and are a huge potential for future. \- Full Nest II: The youngest child in the family is six or above. Generally the stage comprises children aged 6-12 years. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: Financial position gets better as one begins to rise up the ladder. If the wife is also working, children are "latchkey kids." The family spends on food, clothes for children, education of children, insurance policies and investments. They also pay for medical expenses and particularly, dental treatment. They go in for deals; buy larger-size packages, and economy packs. Junk food, fashion clothing and accessories, video games etc. are prime demands. Implications for Marketers: At this stage, purchasing is still at the peak, and so this is also an attractive segment for the marketer. The children, as also teenagers continue to impact family purchases. The latchkey kids are a potential for home delivered junk food like pizzas and burgers. -Full nest III: They are older married couples with dependent and/or independent children but staying together at home. Children reach the higher educational level; one of them may start earning too. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The family income continues to increase and so do expenses. The family continues to spend on food, clothes for teenagers, higher education of children, and also repeat purchase of durables that were bought in honeymooning stage or Full Nest I. The family buys new furniture, electronic goods and appliances and cars. Thus there is high average purchase of durables. The family also invests in real estate and property and/or flats. They continue to spend on medical expenses, particularly dentists and visit general physicians for regular check ups. Implications for Marketers: At this stage, income begins to increase as one of the children begins to earn. As expenses see a rise, the stage offers a potential for marketers. **4. Stage IV: Postparenthood**: This is a stage that occurs once children have left home. They leave home first for education, and then for employment. As they complete their education, and find employment, they gradually leave home one by one, thus, leaving the nest. Thus, this stage has also been broken into two stages, viz., Empty Nest I and Empty Nest II. As one moves across Empty Nest I and II, the size and structure of the family changes (quite similar to the Parenthood stage and the Full Nest I, II and III). -Empty Nest I: This is a stage that occurs when at least one of the children has left home. He/she has completed education, taken up a job and has left home to start his/her home. He/she is independent and can manage on own. While children are managing to start up on their own, parents are still working. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The family size gradually begins to shrink. Parents are still earning; expenses gradually reduce, and so there is highest level of savings and disposable income at hand. The family spends on food, installments for real estate/house, higher education of the dependent children, and, medical expenses on dentist, physiotherapy and heart. They have leisure time in hand, and watch television, movies, and may even go on a vacation.Implications for Marketers: At this stage, the couple beings to again have disposable income in hand. Financial responsibilities towards children begins to decrease. This stage offers potential for marketers who are involved in providing services like leisure, travel and holiday. -Empty Nest II: In this stage, all the children have left home, and the couple has retired from occupation. They live on pension and other social security investments. If health permits, they take up part-time jobs. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: The couple has higher disposable incomes because of savings and investments, and they have fewer expenses. They decide to spend on all that they had been thinking to spend on but had not been able to because of familial responsibilities. They spend money on food, travel and holidays, watch TV and form hobby clubs. They refurnish their home or may even move to newer homes after retirement. Medical expenses also see a rise. However, for those older retired couples who do not have much income from adequate savings and investments, the situation is much different. There is a sharp drop in their income. Implications for Marketers: The stage is lucrative for those involved in the entertainment industry. Many industries provide special discounts in travel and stay as "Senior Citizen benefits, for example, hotels, airlines and railways. Banks and financial institutions also have special facilities for those above 60, especially higher rates of interest on deposits. 5**. Stage V: Dissolution:** This stage in the FLC occurs when one of the couple dies, and leaves behind the other surviving spouse. Priorities and Preferences of Purchase: When one of the spouses is still earning, or earns money from savings and investments, things are little easier. However, if he/she is not earning, he/she follows a lifestyle that is economical. The primary expenditure is on medicines, checkups with doctors and restrictive diet. Implications for Marketers: The stage is characteristic of a widow/widower with lower income and least shopping and expenses. **Modifications to the FLC:** With changes in our society, we witness a change in the traditional Family Life Cycle and the various stages through which it progressed earlier. There are various forms like single; late marriages; divorced (with/without children); dual income, no kids (DINKS); live-ins etc. Consumer researchers have thus brought about changes in the traditional FLC, so as to reflect changes in the family and lifestyle arrangements. Broadly speaking households may be classified as family households and non-family households (single individual or live-ins). Each of these family types has varying features and characteristics, which also get exhibited in their buying patterns and consumption expenditure. **ROLE AND STATUS**