Summary of content

A critical in-depth knowledge and understanding of consumer behaviour is fundamental to the Marketing Philosophy and the practice of successful Marketing Management. Marketing begins and ends with the consumer – from determining an accurate representation of target audience needs, wants and demands to developing branded products, services and experiences that consumers engage with and value over time. Consumer behaviour is dynamic and fluid in nature thus understanding, explaining and predicting changing consumer behaviour and consumption habits is central to the creation, implementation and maintenance of robust Marketing Strategy. The aim of the module is to equip students with an in depth and critical understanding of the characteristics of consumers; their consumer decision making processes and choice behaviour. The module will develop the students’ ability to critically analyse consumer behaviour in a variety of contexts. It will develop the student’s appreciation of consumer decision making concepts and their impact on marketing decision making. The module is built around two key sections. Firstly, the module evaluates the social, economic and psychological roots of the discipline and relates these to emerging 21st century consumption habits. It focuses on the consumer as an individual and the psychological processes that consumers undertake when making consumption decisions and the environment(s) in which choice behaviour occurs. Thus the model provides both a micro and macro perspective in terms of exploring factors influencing individual consumer behaviour. The module examines the various theories of consumer behaviour available. Secondly, the module addresses and explores the key emergent issues of Experiential consumption, Sustainability and the move away from the classic Materialism paradigm of Consumer Behaviour towards Ethical consumption. The module provides a multi-disciplinary approach providing a balance and synthesis of relevant theories, empirical research and examples of mar

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