Consumer Behavior -- Country of Origin Factors

Consumer Behavior -- Country of Origin Factors

Consumer Behavior

The newcomer to marketing reality might suppose that consumers tend to be influenced by country of origin competitive advantage when it comes to buying particular luxury goods; in fact, our contemporary penchant for the very latest in gimmicks, as well as the current demand for swiftness of operation, disproves that theory. This is not to deny Marieke de Mooij's insistence that, if one realizes that people are different, then extensions reinforce those differences. Cultural values have been at the root of consumer behavior in the past, and in some domains, they remain so -- but not in all (p. 1).

Results of Experimental Research

Students in my course, "Writing for the Markets of Tomorrow" at the university, had their preconceived notions turned upside down by a recent survey they took based on the shopping trends of tourists to Nassau Square in Princeton, New Jersey. The Landau discount store has been a landmark of attraction for many years due to the excellent workmanship of their fine quality clothing, especially their coats, the authentic Austrian Loden coats. Yet, when interviewed by one of the students, clerks admitted that sales were slack since many consumers preferred the trendy layered look of hooped wool scarves and over-long sweaters which can be found in any discount store, most of them of U.S. origin (Survey, 2010).

The November issue of Trendwatching.com predicts that

"Virtually the entire world has joined the consumer arena, [and that we should] prepare for an avalanche of new brands, entrepreneurs and innovations from 'emerging'

markets that will have global potential and appeal. From aggressive Chinese brands to Turkish curatives to Brazilian

apparel, we're seeing a sharp increase in world-class companies that can and will compete for consumers' Dollars, Reais, Euros

Pounds, Rupees, Rands, or Liras." (p. 1)

According to Carnagie 2010, developing countries will account for two thirds of world trade in 2050 (11/18/10). Sociocultural variants are at least as important as physiological and psychological variants when one is trying to understand the interrelations of any consumer activity as it relates to human behavior on the whole. Ways of thinking, of purchasing, are learned by individuals within the context of which they learn ways of thinking about and doing other things (Heath, p. 438). However, the contemporary thrust toward innovation, controlled somewhat by world-wide economic uncertainty has nurtured the entrepreneurial spirit. Consumers do not appear to be so convinced, as they may have been in the past, that wines from France are the best -- why spend extra money on them, when our California wines are just as rich and flavorsome. Presaging future tendencies on the part of consumers, Jeannie Cho Lee MW remarks upon the innovation tendencies of young Asian wine lovers who enjoy experimenting and having fun with wine. In the Japanese manga comic, Les Gouttes de Dieu, Chateau Boyd-Cantenac 2001 is portrayed as a masquerade party, with no reference to cassis or cedar. The popular comic illustrates a need for new ways to communicate about wine trends. (www.decanter.com/people and places/11/15/10).

Future Consumer Behavior