Introduction to CB & Post-modernity

Introduction to CB & Post-modernity

1. So what is consumer behaviour?

   • The act of consuming or the state of being consumed?
   • To live is to consume
   • The absorption of something by another to support its function or welfare
   • In some sense consumption can be a condition of life (in the form of plants an carbon -> animals and plants -> humans and animals

2. Consumer culture

   • Economy is focused upon selling consumer goods
   • Historical transition
   • Currently live in a 'market-mediated' consumer culture
   • What we buy is seen as a symbol of status and wealth (Georgian era with dresses)
   • A strong desire to keep up with our peers
   • HOWEVER.. consumer culture is not a recent thing

3. A consumer society

   • A society where the buying and selling of goods is the most important activity
   • As a culture we are no long production define (by what we do) we are not consumption define (what we have)
   • Everything is now seen as 'consumable' even air and culture themselves
   • Consumer society can also refer to our relationship with market forces & consumption processes
   • In terms of 'consuming culture' we talk about travelling, fashion styles, music & sports
     • As a result of 'consuming culture', we can be considered very commercialised by our markets

4. From 'pre birth' to 'pre death' and 'post death'

   • The popularity of baby showers, pregnancy books & prams suggests that it is possible to consume before we are even born
   • It is also possible to tailor these products e.g. blue for a boy, pink for a girl
   • Some 'to-be' parents can feel inadequate if they are unable to purchase luxury baby items
   • It is also possible to consumer pre-death
   • It is now considered 'popular' to plan your own funneral
   • It is also very common for organisations to assist in this process (The Co-operative)

5. Issues with defining Consumer Behaviour

   • Consumer behaviour can cover a lot of ground
   • Problems can arises relating to how you define consumers
   • There are many different 'types' of consumers
     • Chooser
     • Communicator
     • Explorer
     • Responsible
     • Post-Modern
   • The type of consumer that you are can vary depending on where you are in life

6. How diverse consumer behaviour can be

   • Pets and consumption
     • Play a significant role in owners social lives
     • The average pet owner can spend over £400 on their pet every year
     • £3.5 billion a year
   • Air
     • Enhance peoples lifestyles
     • Help to eliminate stress, fatigue & alutitde related problems
     • Some can exceed £2000

7. From buyer to consumer

   • Early academics believed that 'the purchase' was the crucial point
     • Placed a lot of emphasis on consumer producer interaction
   • Has become apparent that consumer behaviour extends beyond this point of exchange
     • As a result CB can be seen as a process
   • There can often be issues that influence a consumer before during and after a purchase
   • The circle of consumption

8. Consumption post disposition (Freitag)

   • Launched in 1993
   • Turn waste into functional bags
   • These bags can then be sold for 200-300 swiss francs
   • Brand offers durable and quality bags

9. Consumer culture theory (CCT)

   • Refers to a family of theoretical perspectives that address the dynamic relationships between consumer actions, the marketplace and cultural meanings
   • CCT researchers share a common complexity that programmatically links their respective research efforts
   • Explores hetergeneous distribution of meanings that exsist within the broader socio-historical frame of globalization and market capitalism

10. What are 4 main research domains in CCT?

    • Consumer identity projects
    • Marketplace culture
    • Socio - Historic patterning of consumption
    • Mass - mediated marketplace ideologies and consumers interpretive strategies

11. Pre-modernity

    • Belief in religious/ spiritual being as core objective of truth
    • Did not differentiate a person from his or her social and religious role
    • Defends artisan, creaftsmanship, spirituality, family & community spirit

12. Modernity

    • Sought to tame pre-modern pagan and mythical passion
    • Focus on rationality and positivism
    • Against pre-modern passion, subjectivity and choice

13. Postmodernity

    • Questions the search for universal truths and values and the exsistance of objective knowledge
    • Argue that the central values of modernism and industrialism drove the modern era into breaking up
    • The 5 main components
      • Hyper-reality
      • Fragmentation
      • Reversal of production and consumption
      • De-centered subject
      • Juxaposition of opposites