Project on IMPACT OF SOCIAL NORMS ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR

Presented to:Dr. Ipshita Bansal FMS, Wisdom

Presented by:Ankita Joshi Supriya Sweta Singh

TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION TYPES OF SOCIAL NORMS SOCIAL INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES CULTURAL INFLUENCES SUBCULTURE FAMILY INFLUENCES REFERENCE GROUP CASELETS CERTAIN EXAMPLES

CASE STUDY CONCLUSION REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION
Why dont we sing loudly on a public bus? Why dont we laugh during a funeral? Why we maintain interpersonal distance while communicating??? These are some of our social norms which are being followed by everyone. Social norms are the accepted behaviour within a society or group.They consist of rules of conduct and models of behaviour prescribed by a society. Norms vary and evolve not only through time but also vary between social classes and groups. What is deemed to be acceptable dress,speech or behaviour in one social group may not be accepted in another. Essentially social norms are rules that define the behaviour that is expected,required or acceptable in particular circumstances.

TYPES
INJUCTIVE NORMS- these are behaviours which are perceived as being approved of by other people. Example: wasting water is bad.

DESCRIPTIVE NORMS-these are perceptions of how other people are actually behaving whether or not these are approved of. Example: we all wear western outfits.

EXPLICIT NORMS-these are written or spoken openly. Example:respecting our elders.

IMPLICIT NORMS- these are not openly stated but we find out when we face them. Example: foreigners coming here and seeing our dressing norms.

SUBJECTIVE NORMS- expectations that valued others have about how we will behave. Example: young ones are expected to greet their elders in afamily function.

PERSONAL NORMS- standards we have about our own actions. Example: we decide that we will not swear even if all of our friends are swearing.

SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES:
PERSONAL INFLUENCE: 1. Opinion leadership:opinion leaders are people with expertise in certain areas.consumers respect these people and often ask their opinion before they buy goods and services.An information technology specialist with a great deal of knowledge about computer brands in an example their purchases often lie at the forefront of leading trends.

2. Word of mouth: it is information about products and services that is communicated verbally. It is more persuasive than written information and is the number one source affecting food and household purchases.

CULTURAL AND SUBCULTURAL INFLUENCES:

CULTURE: The ideas,values and symbols that people adopt to communicate,interpret and interact as members of society.it is learned and transmitted from one generation to the next.

Example: In Indian culture married women put bindis,mangalsutra but in western culture a ring is the only symbol of marriage for both men and women.

ETHNIC PATTERNS: 1. The norms and values of specific groups or subculture within a society. 2. Ethnic groups or subculture may be formed around national,religious,racial or geographic factors.

3. Members of a subculture share similar values and patterns of behaviour, making them attractive marketing targets for specific products and brands.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS:
Nationality: In Afghanistan girls are not allowed to wear short dresses infact they are mainly seen in Burqa but in western countries short dresses are casuals.

Region: In India,the southern part does not experience winters as the northern part does so the sale of wollen apparels are mainly seen in the northern region.

Religion: Images of goddess on the packets of insense sticks and camphors are seen so we feel bad to throw these packets. The Green label tea which had its packaging of green color was not a success in Pakistan because green is considered pious there.

Age: When we go out to a restaurant,the children and teenager usually prefer eating junk food but elderly people choose to eat typical Indian cuisine.

FAMILY INFLUENCES:
Most market researchers consider a persons family to be one of the biggest determinant of buying behaviour. Like it or not you are more like your parents than you think,at least in terms of your consumption patterns. The fact is that many of the things we buy are a result of what our parent do and do not buy. The soap we grew up using, toothpaste our parents bought and used and even the brand of politics we lean towards examples of the products we are likely to favour as an adult.

SOCIAL CLASS INFLUENCES:

Social classes are relatively homogenous divisions within a society that contain people with similar values,needs,lifestyle and behaviour. Example: upper-upper class prefer to buy Rolls Royce Lower-upper class prefer to buy Mercedez Upper middle class prefer to buy Lexus Middle class prefer to buy Toyata Lower class prefer to buy Second hand vehicles.

REFERENCE GROUPS:
Those others look for help and guidance including friends,co workers and others. Example: Any of our friend bought blackberry set then she would suggest us to buy the same.

MEDIA:
Media connects the world to individuals. Media has allowed the participatin habits of the public.the internet creates a space for more diverse political opinions, social and cultural viewpoints and a heightened level of consumer participation. There have been suggestions that allowing consumers to produce information through the internet will lead to an overload of information.

CERTAIN EXAMPLES:
1. McDonalds: they introduced aaloo tikki burgers specially for the Indian customer instead of their beef burgers because we donot prefer eating beef as cow is considered pious here.

2. Recession in America: to maintain the fake social status middle class people started taking loans of credits from the World bank following the rich people of the society and were not able to paythem back which resulted in recession.

3. Maggi: it introduced many new flavours like atta noodles, dal noodles and sambhar noodles as we Indians are resistant in changing food habits and our parents are more concerned about the health rather than the taste.

4. Cadbury Dairymilk: they started their advertisements or promotional campaigns with the tag line- kuch meethe ho jaye as we always consider to eat swwet on the happy occasions.

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CASELET:
Introducing behaviour changes towards sustainable food consumption by Kate Power (3 december,2010) Food choices are deeply embedded in social norms,personal values, habits and aspirations,intervening to change the dietary behaviour is a diificult and controversial area. Our behaviour is motivated by a mix of social-psychological drivers(social norms,values,attitudes,identity,habits etc) and infrastructural drivers like prices,avalability,advertisements etc). Changing food habits is particularly difficult because food tends to be such an emotive issue bound up with our cultural and personal perceptions. Social norms do change over time and these changes in normal practice can be lead by governments as well as being promoted by bussinesses. We should first know which behaviour changes are needed?? -a diet with less environmental impact. -less food waste at home. -purchasing sustainable food items. -purchasing more seasonal and local food. -purchasing more certified food(organic).

Consumers need more information in order to change their behaviourthe choices can be promoted through infrastructure and policies as well as promoting social norms that make sustainable choices normal and desirable for society.
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Government can influence consumer behaviour hrough promoting sustainable social norms,national /regional standards and information. Businesses can influence consumer behaviour through pricing,availability and labelling.

CASE STUDY OF McDONALDS:

There was a case of McDonalds related to their french fries. The lawsuit followed a spate of media reports detailing how the french fries served at McDonalds were falsely promoted as being 100% vegetarian. Although Mcdonalds initially declined to comment on on the issue ,the company issued an apology admitting to use beef flavouring in the fries. The furore over the matter seemed to be settling down,when to McDonalds horror,some of its restaurants in India were vandalized. Activists of Hindu fundamentalist groups-The Shiv Sena, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal,staged a demonstration in front of the McDonalds head office in Delhi protesting the alleged use of beef flavouring. They submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding the closure of all McDonalds outlets in the country. Activists also staged protests in front of McDonalds in south Mumbai and Thane .about 30 people were arrested and later let off on bail.company officials estimated the loss to the outlets at 2 million .official at McDonalds India quickly announced thar the vegetarian products served in India do not have any non-vegetarian content.this is how the company came out of this critical and huge problem.

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CONCLUSION
The social norms,often unspoken rules of a group shape not first our behaviour but also our attitudes. Social norms influence even those preferences considered private,such as what music we like or what policies we support. Norms serve a basic human social function,helping us distinguish who is in the group and who is an outsider. Behaving in ways the groupsconsider an appropriate ia a way of demonstrating to others and to oneself that one belongs to the group. Ideas and innovation whether the latest fashion electronic gadget\s or slang word are introduced and spread within a group.indioviduals who innovate tend to be somewhat isolated from the rest of the group. Though innovators may be isolated the group often adopts their innovations because these new ideas or objects are an accesible way for members of the group to bond or signal solidarity. The more public an object or behaviour is the more likely it is to be spread. The bright coloured bracelets worn to show support for cancer survivors are seen by others making a private value visible.

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