At just about every moment of our lives, we engage in some form of consumer behavior. When we watch an ad on TV, send a text message to friends about a movie we just saw, brush our teeth, go to a ball game or to a beach party, visit a website on the Internet, download a new CD, or even throw away an old pair of shoes, we are behaving as a consumer. Being a consumer reaches into every part of our lives. Of course, we are much more than just consumers. We are students, team mates, family members, employees, citizens, voters, neighbors, basketball fans, ice-cream lovers, bloggers, inventors, and more. This book is dedicated to our role as consumers.
Given its omnipresence, the study of consumer behavior has critical implications for areas such as marketing, public policy, and ethics. It also helps us learn about ourselves-why we buy certain things, why we use them in a certain way, and how we get rid of them.
In this book we explore the fascinating world of consumer behavior, looking at a number of interesting and exciting topics. Some of these are quickly identified with our typical image of consumer behavior. Others may be surprising. We hope you will see why we became stimulated and drawn to this topic from the very moment we had our first consumer behavior as students. We hope you will also appreciate why we choose to make this field our life’s work, and why we are dedicated to this textbook.
Part 1 An Introduction to Consumer Behavior
Part 2 The Psychological Core
Part 3 The Process of Making Decisions
Part 4 The Consumer's Culture
Part 5 Consumer Behavior Outcomes and Issues