ST.

XAVIERS COLLEGE (KOLKATA)

PROJECT ON: Changes of global consumer behavior & its implication for the global market.

NAME~Yogesh Chandak ROLL NO~219 ROOM NO~13 PROF. S.Banerjee

Introduction:Consumer behaviour is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics. It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioural variables in an attempt to understand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. CHANGES IN GLOBAL CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR: Possibly the most challenging concept in the marketing is to deal with understanding thebuyer behaviour. For eg, the attitude of Indian consumers has undergone a major transformation over the last few years. The Indian consumer today wants to lead a life full of luxury and comfort. He wants to live in present and does not believe in savings for the future. Another most important and recent development in Indias consumerism is the emergence of the rural market for several basic consumer goods. The Indian middle class has provided a big boost to the consumer culture during the recent past and it is hoped that their buying behaviour will continue to change in the coming future. The number of middle class is increasing due to another fact that people are fast shifting from agriculture to the services and industry sector where growth prospects are reasonably high as compared to the agriculture sector which is showing slow growth. The tastes and preferences of the current generation are changing rapidly. The current generation does not mind paying extra for better facilities and ambience. Another major factor that has led to increased consumerism is the growth of credit culture in India. The Indian consumer does not feel shy to purchase products on credit and pay tomorrow for what they use or buy today. This tendency has led to a tremendous increase in purchase of homes, cars, twowheelers and consumer goods. The market for luxury products in India is also climbing at an astonishing rate as compared to a decade ago when it was almost negligible. The reason behind this is that the purchasing power of people of India is rising very steeply. The Indian consumer today is highly aware about the product, price, quality and the options available with him. The purchasing is done by keeping all these factors in mind. Today, price is not the only consideration as it was a few years back when prices played a major role in purchasing. Marketers are trying hard to capture this ever increasing Indian middle class as they form the bulk of Indian consumers.

How to Succeed: Companies like Nokia, Reebok, how they've faced and overcome the Challenge in India, Coke, PepsiCo and major automobile giants like Toyota, Suzuki ,Ford, Chevrolet, Mercedes etc. has made a market for themselves in India. How did they establish their own individual market in a country like India which is prone to diverse cultures.

Example of Ford:

Before establishing their base in India, they engaged in a lot of researches. Their researches were made on the Indian peoples social life, personal tastes and preferences, way of life, how they identify an effective product and what makes them get attracted towards a product. The social and economic conditions were analyzed. They had modified their product to suit the Indian conditions. Their technology had to be adjusted and suited to such an extent that their car is adaptable to Indian conditions. Indians are generally prone to be rough and tough customers and especially taking into account the road conditions and other social factors they designed the product in such a way that its best suited to the conditions and its received by the target customers. Today Ford is enjoying a huge market in India. If an automobile company from a different country can make wonders why cannot our own manufacturers adapt to these techniques? A customers want has to be identified and his expectations must be matched with the other economic and social factors so that their product is receptive. This can be related to any product . Reebok today is enjoying a huge market in India even though they have hired company which is phoenix to manufacture shoes and operate under Reebok. How did they achieve this? Adapting to social conditions play the most important role in establishing your brand in the market.. Its just that they want the product to be flexible and adaptable to their needs and preferences. People are changing from time to time, so do their tastes and preferences. Identifying those is the first step towards achieving success and the rest depends on the performance of the product.

Example of Benetton:

The Benetton Group is a native Italian company whose core business is clothing. Founded on 1945, Benetton has reached 120 countries with more than 5,000 stores located around the world. With estimated sales around 1.7 billion euros at the end of year 2004, Benetton is still one of the largest retail clothing companies in the world. In 1989, Benetton became the first company to eliminate pictures of its products from its advertisements. In their place, Benetton uses images of AIDS victims, racism, war, and death row inmates. This campaign strategy and philosophy is the result of the combined efforts of company president Luciano Benetton and photographer Oliviero Toscani. While trying to convince the public that this advertising strategy is legit and that it is not driven by economic purposes, Luciano Benetton (United Colors of Benetton co-founder) says that he is only interested in the world and people. I have always been sympathetic to peoples problems, to minority rights, birth control, disease, wars, racism, religious intolerance. Despite claims made by Benettons top management that profit was never a motive and raising social conscience is their single goal, Benetton ads have been widely criticized and banned worldwide. While some markets (like the UK and the Italy) have been more tolerant to Benettons advertising styles, other countries have reacted differently. Why? The answer could probably be found by analyzing how external factors such as Culture, Social stratification, Reference groups and Family can influence on the buyers perception of a brand or product. Culture, reference groups and family and the Benetton ads. Culture ,According to Blackwell, Culture represents the behavior, beliefs and, in many cases, the way we act learned by interacting or observing other members of society. In other words, culture is a learned behavior shared by members of the same country, community or society. When advertising a product or brand it is vital

to understand the cultural values of the intended audience since cultural factors have a significant impact on customer behavior. In 1991, when Benetton started its AIDS campaign, the world knew very little about this deadly disease. While in some developed countries, people where starting to understand the causes of the disease and how everyone was a possible victim, other third world countries visualized the concept of a gay men and drugaddicts problem.

Conclusion:
From above analysis it is very clear that the consumers buying behavior and their attitude have changed drastically in the recent past. With changing economic situation of global market its not that only the rich are spending more and more but in fact its the middle class that's thrown caution to the winds and enjoying themselves like never before and are on a spending juggernaut. Its a new mindset at play. Living for the day is the new motto. This translates into spending on a new home, a new car, the latest digital camera, appliances for the kitchen, home decor etc. The change is drastic compared to a generation back where saving for a rainy day was the usual practice .There was a clear line drawn between necessities, which could be counted on the fingertips of one hand, and luxuries. Loans were not forthcoming. Never borrow, never lend was the favourite theme. Banks and credit card companies are vying with each other in offering loans to customers. The credit card business is booming. Indians were sold 45,000 credit cards a day last year and together they spent Rs 120 crore a day through credit cards during the year .The face of changing India is reflected as Airlines, hotels, FMCG companies, auto giants ,retail chains, mobile phone companies are all reworking strategies and slashing prices to reach the low-end consumer in rural areas . The success-driven consumers dont have to wait for opportunity to knock at their doors. It is all around them and in plenty. With a job scene that is booming a host of avenues are open to even college students. A slew of industries that had almost no presence in the country a few moons back are dishing out jobs in plenty. Call centres, retail chains, mobile phone companies, data processing firms have all contributed to the job explosion. But that's not the whole story. Even as high-tech gadgets have invaded the Indian consumer market with the liberalization of the economy, finding two square meals a day is a daunting task for some. It is this broad spectrum of people perhaps that makes India keep its head on its shoulders and not get carried away. One thing is for sure that the pace of change in the needs, desires and wants of the consumers will be even steeper and will further change drastically in the near future.