The Impact of Age On The Customers Buying Behaviou
The Impact of Age On The Customers Buying Behaviou
The Impact of Age On The Customers Buying Behaviou
Marie Slabá
Abstract
Introduction
Like any other people's behaviour, consumer buying behaviour can be seen as determined
by many factors. Companies oriented on their customers represent companies seeking to
customer satisfaction. These companies are not looking to sell but for long-term consumer
satisfaction by providing products of high quality with their own continued survival and
long term goal of the company (Haghshenas et al. 2013).
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Since any customer is an individual person, there are lots of different factors influencing
the customer buying decision. For many decades, consumer buying behaviour captured
the imagination of researches all over the world. Understanding buying behaviour is one
of the critical elements of success of any business activity. Therefore, many types of
research are interested in understanding consumer buying behaviour for many decades.
Understanding consumer buying behaviour enables better forecasting and understanding
purchasing habits and motives (Stávková, Stejskal, and Toufarová 2008). Customer
buying behaviour has long been of interest to organizations, researchers, and customers.
Generally, consumer behaviour represents consumer buying behaviour during any
buying process.
Today, many scientific papers and researches are focusing on the consumer buying
behaviour and different factors that the consumer buying behaviour influence (e.g.,
Durmaz 2014, Stávková, Stejskal, and Toufarová 2008, Khaniwale 2015, Chhabra 2018,
Kumar, Hundal and Kaur 2019 and many others). Some authors — for example, McGuiere
(1976), or Lawan and Zanna (2013) distinguish internal and external factors that
influence customer decisions. Internal factors are mainly represented by psychological
and socio-demographic characteristics, and external factors are mainly represented by-
products or service variables.
Many researchers (e.g. Rehman, Yusoff, Zabri and Ismail 2017, Rani 2014, Lichev 2017,
Durmaz 2014, Martins, Yusuf, & Swanson 2011, Cranfield, Henson and Blandon 2012, Ostrovskiy,
Garkavenko and Rybina 2019) focus on the influence of psychological and socio-
demographic variables on customers' purchasing behaviour, as they play an important
role in purchasing decisions. Khaniwale (2015), as well as Sukdeo (2018) and Yakup and
Jablonsk (2012), suggest that is necessary to take into account personal characteristic of
the customer since each customer as an individual is unique by personal characteristics
and nature. Rani (2014) states that it is crucial to know that lots of factors influencing
buying behaviour derive from psychology, and it is necessary to understand these factors
to understand consumer buying behaviour. These characteristics shape a person as an
individual, and influence his or her view of the world, ways of making decisions, including
purchasing decisions. As stated Rani (2014), psychological and socio-demographic
characteristics like age, annual income, economic conditions, occupation, or personal
lifestyle, and many others have a significant influence on the consumer buying behaviour
as each individual is a unique person with unique personal characteristics. Based on many
types of research, it is clear that social, cultural, personal, and psychological
characteristics influence directly marketing strategy (Sukdeo 2018). Marketing starts with
the needs, wants, and desires of the consumer and finishes with the satisfaction of these
needs and wants, and desires to achieve companies' goals (Dumaz 2014).
Age is considered to be one of the key demographic factors that influence customer
purchasing behaviour. Rani (2014) states that age is a significant factor for marketing
strategy since age creates a critical difference among consumer choices and consumers’
consumption habits and patterns. Although age is considered to be one of the most
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significant factors of consumer behaviour, there are not too many scientific studies and
articles that focus exclusively on these socio-demographic characteristics (e.g., Hervé and
Mullet 2009, Rani 2014). Therefore, the author, in her research, focused on demographic
variables and their influence on consumer purchasing behaviour and preferences in the
choice of products and services. This article aims to examine the impact of age on
customer perception of price, as the price is also one of the main factors that the
customers evaluate in their purchasing decision process.
Theoretical background
Any business entity studies consumer buying behaviour to obtain crucial information on
the consumer decision process and choice of products and services. This information is a
crucial element for a successful marketing strategy that is developed based on the
understanding of consumers buying behaviour needs and wants (Łatuszyńska, Furaiji and
Wawrzyniak, 2012, Sukdeo 2018, Haghshenas, Abedi and Ghorbani 2013).
Many authors started to study consumer buying behaviour during the 1950s-1960s. First
theoretical postulates claim that consumer buying behaviour represents a function of
needs, beliefs, and desires that are connected to individual behaviour and represent the
predominant determinant of personal actions and intentions (Łatuszyńska, Furaiji and
Wawrzyniak, 2012).
As stated Haghshenas, Abedi and Ghorbani (2013), generally speaking, consumer buying
behaviour studies how and why customers buy or not to buy any product. There are many
definitions of consumer behaviour since there are several different approaches adopted
in the study of customer buying behaviour. The main theories studying follows — Ajzen’s
theory of planned behaviour, Alphabet theory, ABC (Attitude‐Behaviour‐Context) theory,
VBN (Value‐Belief‐Norm) theory or VAB (Value-Attitude-Behaviour), Theory of reasoned
action, EKB model Motivation-need Theory and many others (Zepeda — Deal 2009, Tan
2011). Each theory tries to explain consumer buying behaviour based on different
approaches and factors. For example, VAB model is a prevalent model used in green
buying behaviour studies (Tan 2011). VAB model implies that any influence could
theoretically flow from the abstract values to specific buying behaviour since values can
influence attitude and attitude can influence behaviour (Homer — Kahle 1988). Sharma
(2014) claims that consumer buying behaviour is the consumer decision process and
following acts of people involved in searching, choosing, buying, and using products.
Dawson, Findlay, and Sparks (2008) define consumer buying behaviour as a set of
attitudes characterizing patterns of consumer choices. Solomon et al. (2006) state that
consumer buying behaviour represents a study of a process, during which groups or
individuals select, purchase, use, and dispose of products of services to satisfy their needs,
wants, and desires. Schiffman et al. (2007) claim that consumer buying behaviour is
behaviour that any consumer displays in searching, purchasing, using, and disposing of
products the consumer expects to satisfy his or her needs, wants, and desires.
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Analysis of consumer buying behaviour has been in the focus of many authors for a long
time. Foxall (2001) defines consumer buying behaviour analysis as a synthesis of
behavioural economics and real-world complexities of consumer choices in the
marketing-oriented economy. These analyses, based on Wells and Foxall (2011),
developed principally in response to cognitive domination of customer behaviour
research off their needs and wants to explore patterns of customer choice. The core of
consumer behaviour analysis was developed together with other behaviour theories
focusing on the understanding of psychological and other phenomena (Foxall 2010). The
elementary of consumer buying behaviour represents three terms discriminative
stimulus, response, and reward. In these terms, consumer buying behaviour analysis
represents an interdisciplinary approach to customer choice. The consumer buying
behaviour analysis include technology, psychology and business schools (Wells and Foxall
2011).
Chiu, Chen, Tzeng, and Shyu (2006) claim that the traditional basic concept of the
marketing strategy employs decision making and many methods used to detect factors
influencing customer buying behaviour and decisions. Furthermore, as stated above, any
institution can survive without a good marketing strategy since this strategy is essential
to marketing planning a decision making of any institution and is dependent on the
product, customer behaviour, marketing communication, etc.
Customer buying behaviour is closely connected with marketing since marketing focuses
on customer satisfaction as well as institutional goals. Marketing decisions and tactics are
connected with the understanding of customer needs, wants, and desires, as well as
developing the right products or services for the right customers, informing the
organization's customers about the availability of the company offer and possibilities of
delivery, or exchange process. (Haghshenas et al. 2013).
There are several different approaches to the study of consumer buying behaviour and
consumer decision making. Foxall (1990) distinguishes five main approaches to studying
consumer behaviour as follow:
Behaviourist
Cognitive
Economic Man
Humanist
Psychodynamic
One of the oldest approaches is the behaviourist approach that was published in the study
of Watson in the 1920s. This study tries to prove that consumer behaviour is learned
during consumer life (Watson et al. 1920). The cognitive approach is based on the
elements and rules of the Cognitive Psychology that dates back to Plato, or Aristoteles 350
B. C. Descartes followed the works of Plato and Aristoteles in his works, and today
cognitive approach follows these works and develop the study of the Stimulus Organism
Response (Cziko 2000). There are two main cognitive models of consumer buying
behaviour — analytical model and cognitive model. These models identify factors
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influencing consumer buying behaviour and typically tend to the traditional five-step
calcification. The five-step classification of consumer buying behaviour outline –
recognition of the problem, information search, evaluation of alternatives, the choice from
the alternative, evaluation of outcomes. These steps represent elementary stages in the
consumer buying behaviour process (Schiffman et al. 2007). There are many cognitive
models of customer buying behaviour, e.g. Analytic Cognitive Models based on the Theory
of buying behaviour, The Model of Goal-Directed Behaviour, Consumer Decision Model –
known as the Engel-Blackwell-Miniard Model, Theory of Reasoned Action, or Prescriptive
Cognitive Models based on the Theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behaviour
(TPB) — e. g. Fishbein Model and many others.
First, researches regarded men as individually rational and self-interested, making the
decision. Based on several researches, the theory of the Economic Man was developed.
Based on this model, the customer reacts rationally in the economic sense. The consumer
is aware of all available options and selects the optimal one based on the economic aspects
(Schiffman et al. 2007).
Theory of Trying represents one of the Humanic models that provides an alternate
approach to models previously mentioned. Based on this model, past consumer buying
behaviour influence future consumer choice (Bagozzi et al. 1990).
This table involved only several authors focusing on the factors influencing consumer
buying behaviour, but we can see that demographic and personal factors are one of the
most frequently mentioned.
Lots of authors focusing on the impact of general factors on other factors of consumer
buying behaviour — e.g. customer satisfaction, quality, trust, expectation, customer and
brand loyalty, price sensitivity, previous experience and many other (Bilal et al. 2010,
Ukenna et al. 2012, Petruzzellis, Romanazzi and Gurrieri 2014, and many others).
Dick and Basu (1994) view customer loyalty as the strength of the relationship between
an individual customer relative attitude and repeat patronage. Based on Jacoby and
Chestnut (1978), there are more than 50 definitions of customer and brand loyalty in the
literature in the 1970s. Nowadays, there are many different approaches to customer
loyalty. Celuch, Goodwin, and Taylor (2007) define customer loyalty based on the Theory
of Planned Behaviour. Moreover, Aaker and Keller (1990) interconnect customer loyalty
with various factors – such as experience or brand. Lewis (1997) defined price sensitivity
as consumers price perceptions determined by levels of consumer resistance as they
relate to perceived quality. Customer expectation is very closely connected with previous
customer experience. Both of these factors influence the brand and customer loyalty.
Customer satisfaction is influenced usually by trust and previous experience with the
brand (Kharim 20114).
According to Foster and Cadogan (2002), price is one of the most critical factors that is
considered during the customer buying decision process by the average customer. Loyal
customers are willing to pay higher prices for the product and its quality that
encompasses characteristics and features of a product that bears on its ability to satisfy
customer needs and wants (Russell and Taylor 2006).
The primary author's method for obtaining data was a questionnaire. Thirty-five
questionnaires were excluded from the final evaluation because of incomplete of the
questionnaire or incorrect answer. The final size of this paper is 350 questionnaires.
The questionnaire used as the main tool for collecting primary data was divided into three
main parts as follows:
1. general questions on consumer buying behaviour.
2. questions on the perception of price.
3. demographic information, including age, and another characteristic – for detail see
Tab 4. Demographic profile of respondents
A set of statements was submitted to respondents. Respondents should assess the level of
agreement with these statements on the five-point Likert scale with the following
measurement: 1 indicates strongly agree, 2 indicates agree, 3 indicates neutral, 4 indicates
disagree, 5 indicates strongly disagree.
In this article, the author will use one-way ANOVA to determine whether there is a
statistically significant relationship between independent variables (age and customer
attitude to price, branded and non-branded goods, and customer loyalty). The author will
use ANOVA since the ANOVA is considered as a statistically appropriate test for testing
more than two groups measured on some interval scale (in this case, five-point Likert
scale). ANOVA determines the variability of the sample.
The statements were divided into groups based on the evaluated factors — attitude to the
branded and non-branded goods, attitude to price, and customer loyalty. Based on the
literature search of mainly foreign scientific papers and researches, the author selected
four statements for attitude to price and four statements for attitude to branded and non-
branded goods and customer loyalty. For detail, see the following table.
Moreover, author will use chi-square test for testing of the following hypotheses:
H01: The preference of branded goods is independent on the age
H02: The preference of non-branded goods is independent on the age
The chi-square test is a statistical method for testing the independency of data for
comparison of observed data with expected to a specific hypothesis. The formula for
calculation of chi-square test follows.
(1)
As we can see from the table above most of the respondents prefer branded goods (with
the lowest standard deviation). Major of the respondents stated that they are not price-
sensitive customers, but the standard deviation of this statement is the highest among the
others.
One-way ANOVA analysis between age and other factor was executed. The results of the
ANOVA table are summarized in the following table and text.
As stated above, the author executed a one-way between groups analysis of variance to
explore the impact of age on ranking statements (these statements were measured by the
Likert scale). All respondents were divided into six groups according to their age). ANOVA
revealed statistically significant differences at the confidence level of 95% for statement
1 Price is an essential factor for my buying decision between group 16-24, 55-64, and 64+
(F (5,350) = 2,33, p=0.0031). Another significant difference at the p-value 0,05 was
revealed for statement 3 In the case of buying a more expensive product, the price does
not affect my decision mainly for age groups 16 — 24, 25 — 34 and 64+ (F (5,350 = 3,2,
p= 0.00112) and for statement 4 I am a price-sensitive customer 16 — 24, 25 — 34, 45 —
54 and 64+ (F (5,350 = 2.9, p= 0.00212).
Despite the fact that most of the respondents (except age group 64+) stated that they do
not agree with the stamen that they are price-sensitive customers — for detail see
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following graph, author’s research revealed that that the most price-sensitive group is
group 64+, followed by the age group 35 — 44.
3,5
2,5
1,5
0,5
0
16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 64+
Conclusion
The finding of the author’s research revealed that age is one of the factors influencing
consumer buying behaviour and attitude of the customer to price. The most price-
sensitive consumer group is the oldest age group, 64+. ANOVA analysis proved that there
are statistically significant differences among several age groups (statements 1, 3, and 4).
The chi-squared test proved that preferences of branded and non-branded goods is not
independent on the age.
As stated above, age is one of the factors connected with the consumer life cycle that
influencing consumer buying behaviour. In the next research author will focus on other
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aspects of the consumer life cycle — monthly income, number of family members, and
marital status.
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