Critical Assessment of Four Consumer Behavior Studies

Introduction

The multi-generational aspects of buying behavior are significantly reordering the growth, structure, and long-term potential of all industries. Implicit in multi-generational market shifts is a rapidly changing series of customer expectations, demands for more unique and differentiated customer experiences, and the need on the part of marketers to seek out differentiation in every aspect of their business models. The intent of this analysis is to evaluate four scholarly articles and their contributions to the field of consumer behavior. Study methodologies, data collection instruments, organizational and individual demographics, and study limitations are all discussed. This analysis concludes with a discussion and recommendations for how to gain greater insights and performance from marketing and sales strategies that use consumer behavior as their foundation.

Multi-Generational Marketing: Descriptions, Characteristics, Lifestyles, and Attitudes

In the article "Multi-Generational Marketing: Descriptions, Characteristics, Lifestyles, and Attitudes," the authors completed a longitudinal study of previously published research illustrating the value of using multi-generational marketing strategies that align with a given product lifecycle over time (Williams, Page, Petrosky, & Hernandez, 2010). The premise of this analysis is that the unique needs of consumers will vary according to the stage of the consumer lifecycle they occupy.

The study successfully demonstrates how over a dozen longitudinal studies support the authors' premise that consumers are often members of several generational groups simultaneously (Williams, Page, Petrosky, & Hernandez, 2010). The data collection instrument is secondary research drawn from previously published studies, and the individual demographics of respondents include age, gender, profession, income, and psychographics — specifically, their perceptions of threats, risks, opportunities, and potential for personal growth. The authors successfully show how the six American generations included in the study — Pre-Depression, Depression, Baby Boom, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z — all possess highly unique psychographic attributes that can be correlated back to their position in the overall consumer lifecycle (Williams, Page, Petrosky, & Hernandez, 2010). The authors rely on the U.S. Census Bureau's Population Clock and extensive use of Census data to further underscore their hypotheses and key findings, reinforcing the need for multigenerational marketing and the development of a more lifecycle-based approach to managing products from the customer's perspective (Williams, Page, Petrosky, & Hernandez, 2010).

Despite these strengths, the study does not take the analysis a step further to create a framework for examining psychographic factors or variables that can be correlated back to the six American generations. There could have been more focus on clarifying the shared multigenerational attributes across adjacent generations, providing further validation of the hypothesis. This did not occur, however, and the study — while thorough — lacks depth of findings for the specific psychographic factors that unify neighboring generations from a marketing, promotion, and sales standpoint. This is a significant shortcoming of the overall study.

In the article "Perceptions of Status Consumption and the Economy," the researchers defined a series of study objectives and a methodology that seeks to test whether consumers are primarily driven by the aspirational value of premium brands (Eastman & Eastman, 2011). Their study centers on the premise of the democratization of luxury and whether the egalitarian nature of downward price pressure on brands is having a positive effect on overall luxury brand growth. What the authors actually find is the opposite: there is no significant uplift for aspirational brands in their respondent sample. Respondents were more interested in earning status with their peers by finding exceptional value than by purchasing an aspirational brand (Eastman & Eastman, 2011). These results are highly dependent on the approach the researchers used for defining their methodology, sampling frame, research instrument, and demographics.

Perceptions of Status Consumption and the Economy

The researchers relied on a nonprobability sampling technique targeting adults residing in the Southeastern United States, using an email address list as the primary means of contact (Eastman & Eastman, 2011). Using a multi-phased approach, the researchers first contacted respondents in May 2010 and again in June 2010 with an email containing a link to a web-based survey. Using this technique, the authors attained a 30% response rate, yielding 200 completed surveys (Eastman & Eastman, 2011). The demographics were skewed toward females (58.6%) relative to males (41.4%), and the most dominant age group represented was 46–55 year-olds (27.7%). The dominant racial group was Caucasian (85.5%), 50% of respondents were married, 37.6% were college graduates, and the median income fell between $50,000 and $100,000.

There are many shortcomings of this study, beginning with the nonprobability sampling technique and the lack of precision in defining audience segments within the sample. There is also the potential for sampling frame error, given that many consumers on the email list may know one another and could have shared the survey link. Nonresponse or under-reporting error is also possible, as the median income of the respondent sample is relatively high (Eastman & Eastman, 2011). In conclusion, the survey could have shown with greater granularity how respondents perceive luxury products by category and which brands are more or less aspirational. Given the imprecise nature of the survey instrument, however, that level of detail was not achievable.

In the article "A Study on Customer Involvement in Purchase of Home Appliance," the researchers used two years of customer data from a multi-brand home appliance retailer based in Coimbatore, India (Janaki & Premila, 2012). The database contained a total of 12,612 customer records covering transactions from the preceding two years. The researchers' methodology centered on a screening process that provided for a proportionate random sampling frame, which was successfully deployed and yielded highly accurate results (Janaki & Premila, 2012). Using this sampling frame, the researchers narrowed the large customer database to 2,007 potential respondents and ultimately achieved 200 valid questionnaire responses. The survey included sections on the communication channels customers used to learn about home appliances, as well as the sources and mode of purchase (Janaki & Premila, 2012). The researchers also examined multichannel marketing and sales, the role of brand value, and the perceived alignment of brand strengths with customer preferences and psychographic segment definitions (Janaki & Premila, 2012).

Demographics from the study showed that the majority of respondents (67%) were in the 21–40 year-old age group, 73% were female, 56% were married, and 51% had achieved post-graduate educational levels while working in private industry (Janaki & Premila, 2012). The study's findings show that promotional offers and discounts — followed by door delivery, dealer trustworthiness, and successful product demonstration by a sales agent — are the most critical factors in engaging potential appliance customers in the purchase process (Janaki & Premila, 2012). The study also supports the global trend toward eco-friendly or green products and appliances capable of using biodegradable detergents and other consumables (Janaki & Premila, 2012). Even the most affluent consumers in India were found to price-shop extensively, indicating that the price elasticity of demand for durable appliances in this region is relatively flat.