An Assignment on Consumer Behavior

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An Assignment

On

Social Class and ConsumerBehavior

(CHAPTER - 11)

Date of Submission: 09 / 05 / 2014

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Submitted to:

Mohammad Solaiman

Assistant Professor

Department of Marketing

Comilla University

Submitted by:

Name D NO

Md! "ai#ul $a%ue &'()(*(*

Md! Alauddin Sarker &'()(*(+

"ar#ana Akter ,aki &'()(*&-

Sudipta Shaha &'()(*(-

Md! Mokaddas &'()(*))

Anirban Chanda &'()(*&.

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/able of 0ontent

Social Class and Consumer

BehaviorDescription

Chapter Summar

!ntroduction

"hat is Social class

The #easurement o$ Social Class%i$estle Pro&les o$ the Social Classes

Social Class #o'ilit

eodemoraphic clusterin

The A*uent Consumer

#iddle Class Consumers

The "or+in Class and ,ther on a*uentconsumers#iddle Class Consumer

The Arrival o$ The .Techno-Class/

Selected Consumer Behavior Applicationso$ Social Class

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Executive Summary

Social stratification, the division of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct social

classes exists in all societies and cultures. Social class usually is defined by the amount of

status that members of a secific class ossess in relation to members of other classes. Social!

class membershi often serves as a frame of reference "a reference #rou$ for the

develoment of consumer attitudes and behavior.

%he measurement of social class is concerned &ith classifyin# individuals into social!class

#rouin#s. %hese #rouin#s are of articular value to mar'eters. &ho use social classification

as an effective means of identifyin# and se#mentin# tar#et mar'ets. %here are three basic

methods for measurin# social class( sub)ective measurement, reutational measurement andob)ective measurement. Sub)ective measures rely on an individual*s ercetions of others and

ob)ective measures use secific socioeconomic measures either alone " as a sin#le + variable

index$ or in combination &ith others " as a comosite!variable index$ omosite variables

indexes such as the index of status. haracteristics and the socioeconomic status score ,

combine a number of socioeconomic factors to form one overall measure of social!class

standin#.

lass structures ran# from t&o!class to nine class systems. - freuently used classificationsystem consists of six classes er! er, o&er!er, er!iddle, o&er!iddle,

er!o&er, o&er!o&er class. rofiles of these classes indicate that the socioeconomic

differences amon# classes are reflected in differences in attitudes, in leisure activities and in

consumtion habits. %his is &hy se#mentation by social class is of secial interest to mar'ets.

n recent years, some mar'eters have turned to #eo!demo#rahic clusterin# as an alternative

to a strict social!class tyolo#y. eo!demo#rahic clusterin# is a techniue that combines

#eo#rahic and socioeconomic factors to locate concentrations of consumers &ith articular

characteristics articular attention currently is bein# directed to affluent consumers &ho

reresent the fastest!#ro&in# se#ment in our oulation( ho&ever, some mar'eters are

findin#s it extremely rofitable to the needs of non!affluent consumers.

6esearch has revealed social!class differences in clothin# habits, home decoration and leisure

activities as &ell as savin# sendin# and credit habits. %hus astute mar'eters tailor secific

roduct and romotional strate#ic to each social tar#et se#ment.

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Some form of class structure or social stratification has existed in all societies throu#hout the

history of human existence. n contemorary societies, an indication that social class exist is

the common reality that eole &ho are better educated or have more resti#ious occuation

such as hysicians and la&!years often are more hi#hly valued then those &ho are truc'

drivers and farmhands. %his is so even throu#h all four occuations are necessary for a

society*s &ell!bein# . oreover, as &ill be discussed later a &ide ran#e of differences in

values, attitudes, and behavior exists amon# members of different social classes.

%he ma)or toics that &ill be exlored in this discussion are a definition of social class and

ho& it is measured , lifestyle rofiles of the social classes, Social class mobility , #eo

demo#rahic clusterin# the affluent and non!affluent consumers, the resence of a techno

class, and ho& social!class!lin'ed attitudes and behavior influence selected asects of

consumer behavior.

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-lthou#h social class can be thou#ht of as a continuum! a ran#e of social ositions on &hich

each member of society can be laced! researchers have referred to divide the ontinuum

into a small numbers of secific social classes or strata. Social class is defined as the division

of members of a society into a hierarchy of distinct status classes so that members of each

class have relatively the same status and members of all other classes have either more or less

status.

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%o measurin# social class and social status that is they define each social class by the amount

of status the members of that class have in comarison &ith members of the social classes. n

social research " sometimes called social stratification$ status is freuently thou#ht of as the

relative ran'in#s of members of each social class in terms of secific status factors.

%o secure an understandin# of ho& status oerates &ithin the minds of consumers,

researchers have exlored the idea of secial comarison theory. -ccordin# to this social

sycholo#ical concet, individuals uite normally comare their o&n materials ossessions

&ith those o&ned by others in order to determine their relative social standin#. %his is

esecially imortant in a mar'etin# society &here status is often associated &ith consumers*

urchasin# o&er " or ho& much can be urchased$.

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- related concet is status consumtion! &hich is the rocess by &hich consumers endeavor

to increase their social standin# throu#h consicuous consumtion and ossessions. - number

of research studies validated a status consumtion scale.

%he develoments of such measures are imortant, for as the mar'et for luxury or status

roducts continues to #ro&, there is an even #reater need for mar'eters to identify and

understand &hich consumers esecially see' out such status! enhancin# ossessions, as &ell

as the relationshi bet&een status consumtion and social class.

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%he hierarchical asect of social class is imortant to mar'eters. onsumers may urchase

certain roducts because these roducts are favored by members of either their o&n or a

hi#her social class, and consumers may avoid other roducts because they erceived the

roducts to be :lo&er class; roducts. %hus the various social!class strata rovide a natural

basis for mar'et se#mentation for many roducts and service. n many instance, consumers*

researchers have been able to relate asects of roduct usa#es to social class membershi

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T2o cateor social-class schemas

or'in# 32.3

o&er 17.

%otal ercenta#e 100.0

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%he reutational aroach for measurin# social class reuires selected community informants

to ma'e initial )ud#ment*s concernin# the social class membershi of others &ithin the

community. %he final tas' of assi#nin# community members to social class ositions

ho&ever, belon#s to the trained researcher.

?b)ective measures of social class fall into t&o basic cate#ories sin#le +variable indexes and

comosite variable indexes.

,ccupation ?ccuation is a &idely acceted and robably the best documentation

measure of social class because it reflects occuational status. %he imortance of occuation

as a social class indicator is dramati@ed by the freuency &ith &hich eole as' others they

meet for the first time . ore imortant mar'eters freuently thin' in terms of secific

occuations &hen definin# a tar#et mar'et for their roducts

Education %he level of erson*s formal education is another commonly acceted

aroximation of social class standin#. enerally sea'in# the more education a erson has

the more li'ely it is that the erson is &ell aid and has an admired or resected osition.

!ncomendividual or family income is another socioeconomic variable freuently used to

aroximate social class standin#,

,ther varia'les Auality of nei#hborhood and dollar value of residence are rarely

used as sole measures of social class.

The 5pper 6 upper class---Countr clu' Esta'lishment Small number of &ell!established families.

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Strive for security "Sometimes #ained from union membershi$.

Eie& &or' as a means to : ant children to behave roerly.

Ci#h &a#e earners in this #rou may send imulsively.

nterested in items that enhance their leisure time.

Cusbands tyically have a stron# : macho; self!ima#e.

ales are sorts fans, heavy smo'ers beer drin'ers.

The %o2er- lo2er class- Roc+ Bottom

oorly educated uns'illed laborers

?ften out of &or'

hildren are often oorly treated.

%end to live a day to day existence.

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n recent years , traditional social class measures have been enhanced by lin'in# consumer

related eo!demo#rahic and socioeconomic data to create more o&erful #eo!

demo#rahic lusters . %he underlyin# rationale for demo#rahic lusterin# is that birds of a

feather floc' to#ether. %his is to say that families of similar socioeconomic bac'#rounds tend

to reside in the same nei#hborhoods or communities! that is they cluster to#ether.

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t is not easy to define the boundaries of &hat is meant by : iddle lass : -lthou#h the

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Clothin 8 $ashion8 and shoppinembers of secific social classes differ in terms of &hat they consider fashionable or in

#ood test. For instance , lo&er middle class consumers have a stron# reference for: %!

shirts;, cas, and other clothin# that offer an external oints of identification, such as the

name of an admired erson or #rou a resected comany or brand name, or a valued

trademar' . these consumers are rime tar#ets for licensed #oods . n contrast , uer + class

consumers are li'ely to buy clothin# that is free from such suortin# association. uer +

class consumers also see' clothin# &ith a more suitable loo'.The pursuit o$ leisure

Social + class membershi is also closely related to the choice of recreational and leisure +

time activities. For instance uer +class consumers are li'ely to attend the theater and

concerts to lay brid#e and to attend colle#e football #ames. o&er class consumers tend to

be avid television &atchers and fishin# enthusiasts. and they en)oy drive in movies and

baseball #ames . Furthermore the lo&er class consumers sends more time on commercial

tyes of activities " bo&lin#, layin# ool or billiards or visitin# taverns$ and craft activities

" model buildin# , aintin#, and &ood &or'in# ro)ect rather than cerebral activities

" 6eadin#, visitin#, museums$. n any case, &hether &e are describin# middle!class or

&or'in# class consumers, there brin# the family to#ether "family vacations or activities$ and

less sendin# on thin#s.

Savin8 spendin8 and credit

Savin# , sendin# and credit usa#e all seem to be related to social class standin# uer class

consumers are more future oriented and confident of their financial acumen, they are more

&illin# to invest in insurance , stoc's and real estate. n comarison , lo&er!class consumers

are #enerally more concerned &ith immediate #ratification ( &hen they do save they are

rimarily interested in safety and security.

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onsumer as erson he reresent the social class.

An Assignment on Consumer Behavior

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