HOW INTERCULTURAL DIFFERENCES AFFECT CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

GLOBALLY

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2

Cultural elements.......................................................................................................................2

Intercultural differences affect consumption patterns globally..................................................3

Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5

References..................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
On rare occasions, cultural differences have less of an effect on consumers' final judgments.
When they take into account cultural norms that discourage certain behaviors, such as
consuming alcohol or eating meat, or that promote specific styles of clothing, it becomes
easier to understand why some consumers make the choices they do. Cultural factors such as
household size or the traditional role of women in home administration may influence both
who buys a product and how much they buy (Wen et al., 2020). However, some of them are
of a more subtle kind. Unexpectedly, cultural elements like time orientation appear to affect
features of online shopping like trust and social engagement. Indeed, there is a wide range of
human character traits, and one of those aspects is the degree to which an individual
internalizes the specific cultural influences they are exposed to.

Cultural elements
The values and beliefs held by a community or group of people are what make up their
culture. Individuals' actions are determined by their cultural upbringing. A person's culture
can be boiled down to their set of personal values. A person's upbringing and the lessons he
or she receives from their family members shape his or her identity and ultimately his or her
culture. A consumer's inclination to buy can be profoundly influenced by their cultural
background (Oswald et al., 2020). People's upbringings shape their outlooks, values, and
routines in unique ways. What they take in as kids shapes who they grow up to be and how
they view the world. As time has progressed, cultural researchers have examined various
facets of culture. Each of these cultural factors and their effects on consumer behavior has
been studied in depth to better understand and accommodate them. Also, some societies don't
acknowledge time as a concept. These are typically smaller tribal societies that maintain more
traditional and primitive ways of life. The way these societies talk about time reflects their
values, and it undoubtedly affects how they organize their days (Naeem, 2021). The key to
understanding and connecting with customers in these markets may lie in gaining an
appreciation for such cultural nuances. Understanding the local culture and its associated
values, beliefs, and rituals is crucial for any marketer, no matter where they are working.
One's culture is the total of one's experiences and interpretations of one's social environment.
Culture shapes how and what people say to one another, including how they articulate what is
considered acceptable and unacceptable behavior and what is admired and reviled in the
world. A lack of cultural awareness prevents marketers from even communicating effectively

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with the target audience. The meaning will be wrong even though the words, grammar, and
pronunciation are all spot-on. Those who choose not to stand up to the pressure of their peers
and conform to cultural standards will be punished by the community at large. The vast
majority of people will let this affect their actions and decisions (Holmberg and Erdemir,
2019). Culture can be thought of as the things that people do without much conscious thought
since they are the most comfortable and make the most sense given their set of values and
worldviews. Things that are considered proper, typical, and desirable are shaped by cultural
norms. Businesses that push their customers to go against the grain of popular opinion are the
ones who ultimately end up losing their customers.

Intercultural differences affect consumption patterns globally

The influence of culture on modern consumers is substantial. Women in West Bengal, for
instance, are more likely to buy traditional sarees than Western dresses. Consistent patterns of
behavior are one of the most obvious manifestations of culture, notably in the ways people
choose to consume goods and services. The Thanksgiving turkey, for instance, is well
entrenched in popular American culture (Heer et al., 2020). Businesses that raise and sell
chicken, as well as those that sell it, should anticipate a surge in demand around the
Thanksgiving holiday thanks to a cultural phenomenon that occurs solely in the United
States. To a large extent, a person's values, perceptions, and behaviors are shaped by their
culture, which they learn from early on in the context of their family and other social
institutions.

Culture evolves and changes over time. To innovate is to create a new way of thinking or
perceiving the world, as well as new images, symbols, conventions, and standards of
behavior to improve people's day-to-day lives (Frost et al., 2019). As a result, it is crucial to
recognize the significance of culture and give ethnic factors in customer decisions extra
consideration. Personality, family, and circumstance all play vital roles.

Cultural norms are always evolving. The landscape is ever-evolving. For instance, technical
development can have far-reaching effects on social norms. Through the power of the web,
individuals can affiliate with communities and media outlets that share their views. This is
why eating habits and shopping habits are ever-evolving parts of our culture. As the
components of every given environment evolve, so too does the corresponding culture.
However, there are aspects of culture that remain constant regardless of location or the

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passing of time. This issue is more pressing than ever in today's globally interconnected
world.

For manufacturing and trade, consumer culture becomes a status symbol that conveys, in a
coded language, to whom one belongs or aspires to be like. Quite a few different methods are
used. Observant Muslims would never go out in public without fully covering themselves,
including their faces (De Mooij, 2019). If they were a lady from one of the indigenous
communities in the Philippines, then might consider it impolite to cover up in public.

Purchase decisions are heavily influenced by cultural norms. The consumer's freedom of
choice and the social order based on consumption are both impacted. The decision-making
process is entirely subjective, therefore cultural factors only impact the first three steps—
realization of need, exploration, and appraisal. While marketers can try to sway customer
preferences through channels like advertising and retail techniques, there are some cultural
characteristics they simply cannot change.

A consumer's information-seeking strategy might be affected by cultural norms as well.

Advertisements are less reliable than personal recommendations and word of mouth in some
societies, such as those that developed after the fall of the Soviet Union. Western consumers,
for example, are more likely to use social media to seek out unbiased opinions and
suggestions than those in Eastern countries. Some features of a product are more important to
the buyer than others while they are weighing their options. The consumer's cultural
background should be taken into account.

It's not just the things themselves that culture affects; it also shapes how people use or
consume them. Potential buyers evaluate a product's practicality, attractiveness, and other
features before making a final decision (Bhatti et al., 2020). There is an implied promise of
utility from the product to the buyer. But consumers' expectations can vary greatly from one
culture to the next.

Subculture membership is defined as the practice of categorizing oneself and others

according to shared racial characteristics. The members of this group can be deemed a unique
ethnic group or market segment if they share a shared perspective and worldview that is
different from the beliefs of other groups. Ethnic groupings' product preferences are more
influenced by the purchasing power of their members.

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Conclusion
As a result of considering the aforementioned, it is obvious that cultural factors play a key
role in shaping consumer behavior. Since the consumer's cultural milieu generates
commodities with a particular symbolic value, those promoting products to the consumer
market must have an intimate familiarity with the target audience's cultural norms and
preferences. In most cases, marketing communication channels like traditions, conventions,
and norms are used to transmit the cultural symbolism of commodities. As things stand, a
company needs to provide a product that can compete in the international market to succeed
in the home market. The organization should consider the feasibility of adapting existing
marketing initiatives for use in the new market. Marketing may save the company a lot of
money if they only standardize their approach. An inter-market segmentation strategy would
allow such a company to work with the market by identifying customer groups that are not
limited by the traditional market or geographical boundaries. The company's marketing
campaigns highlight the commonalities between people of different ethnicities and
nationalities. But in any case, it's safe to assume that localized cultural markets will look
somewhat different (primarily, of course, language). In other words, the dynamics of market
indicators may be impacted by cultural differences in how customers react to changes in the
external environment.

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References
Bhatti, A., Akram, H., Basit, H.M., Khan, A.U., Raza, S.M. and Naqvi, M.B., 2020. E-
commerce trends during the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Future
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De Mooij, M., 2019. Consumer behavior and culture: Consequences for global marketing
and advertising. Sage.

Frost, I., Van Boeckel, T.P., Pires, J., Craig, J. and Laxminarayan, R., 2019. Global
geographic trends in antimicrobial resistance: the role of international travel. Journal of
travel medicine, 26(8), p.taz036.

Heer, E., Harper, A., Escandor, N., Sung, H., McCormack, V. and Fidler-Benaoudia, M.M.,
2020. Global burden and trends in premenopausal and postmenopausal breast cancer: a
population-based study. The Lancet Global Health, 8(8), pp.e1027-e1037.

Holmberg, K. and Erdemir, A., 2019. The impact of tribology on energy use and CO2
emission globally and in combustion engine and electric cars. Tribology International, 135,
pp.389-396.

Naeem, M., 2021. Do social media platforms develop consumer panic buying during the fear
of Covid-19 pandemic. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 58, p.226.

Oswald, Y., Owen, A. and Steinberger, J.K., 2020. Large inequality in international and
intranational energy footprints between income groups and across consumption
categories. Nature Energy, 5(3), pp.231-239.

Wen, J., Kozak, M., Yang, S. and Liu, F., 2020. COVID-19: potential effects on Chinese
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