Exploring the changes in the consumer behavior of female consumers in Essay

Exploring the changes in the consumer behavior of female consumers in regard to online shopping of cosmetics - Essay Example Questionnaire Analysis: 12 27 3.2. Interview Analysis: 28 4. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 30 4.1. Conclusion: 30 4.2. Limitations and Problems: 30 4.3. Recommendations: 30 List of References 32 appendix a 35 appendix b 37 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Research Overview and Background: Consumer buying behaviour could be defined as an action that an individual takes in purchasing and using goods and services (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh, 2009). Consumer buying behaviour could be best defined as â€Å"the process by which individual select, purchase, use, dispose of goods and services to satisfy their needs and wants† (Neal, Quester, and Hawkins, 2004). These purchasing decisions are the most complex to understand as consumer’s attitude and behaviour varies from person to person and purchase decisions are based on these factors. Each individual has a unique buying behaviour that sets him/her apart from others. This means that some people prefer to buy instantly to satisfy their needs . Some needs time to make purchase. Some people are fun-loving due to which they prefer traditional ways. Some consider time as money and are more focused on saving their time due to which they prefer online shopping. Some individual are easily influenced by others. Some influence others. This shows that consumer behaviour radically differs from person to person. The behaviour of consumers depends on motivation, learning, beliefs and attitudes. An individual makes a buying decision based on these factors. Social, cultural and personal are some other factors that can influence consumer buying decisions. Social factor includes family, friends, peers, status and role in society; cultural factor includes social class, traditions and customs; personal factor depends on individual’s personality traits that change with the lifecycle. This shows that even purchasing patterns of consumers from similar occupation and background are different (Guthrie and Kim, 2009). Cosmetic products a re to meet the needs of the females. Females are mostly emotionally attached to cosmetic products and to influence them to make purchase is the aim of cosmetics industry. This anti-aging industry has helped the females to look beautiful, younger and to smell the best. The increasing trend of looking younger has increased the sales of cosmetic products as compared to earlier years. To help the consumers meet their need, retailers play an essential role (Guthrie and Kim, 2009). Retailers in this industry act as an intermediary to connect the consumers to the producers by providing the cosmetic products to the consumers. These retailers not only provide the consumers with the cosmetic products but also allow the consumers to buy popular international brands (Glamface, 2010). With a market size in billions of dollars, the cosmetics industry and its retailers are essential to provide customers the product that they require. Some of the major companies in the cosmetics industry are Procto r and Gamble, L’Oreal, Unilever, Avon etc. Proctor and Gamble is currently the market leader in the cosmetics industry with beauty sales of $21.1 billion followed by L’Oreal with beauty sales of $18.1 billion (Rodman Publishing, 2012). The top 20 beauty companies reported a sale of $155 billion which means that the industry has great potential to grow in the future (Rodman Publishing, 2012). The growth of each firm is highly dependent on the consumer buying decisions. Due to the technological advancement the companies have shifted to modern means of marketing and