Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Consumer Characteristics

A consumer’s buying behavior is influenced by cultural, social, and personal factors. Of these, cultural factors exert the broadest and deepest influence on people’s perceptions and desires and on how they go about fulfilling their needs and wants.

Cultural Factors

A culture is a way of life among a group of people—the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them, and that are passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.4

Culture, subculture, and social class are particularly important influences on consumer buying behavior. Culture is a fundamental determinant of a person’s wants and behavior. Through family and other key institutions, ...