Summary of Chapter 9: Family and Household influences.
The main functions of a family are defined, and the changes in household structures are discussed. The family or household decision-making process and influences are described. The effect of marriage on a household is defined and the reasoning...
Chapter 9:
FAMILY AND HOUSEHOLD INFLUENCES ON CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR
1. Family and Households:
Family:
Refers to persons related by
o Blood
o Marriage
o Adoption
Two types of Family
o Nuclear Family
o Extended family
Households:
Refers to an individual or group of people (un/related) occupying a single housing unit.
A household is a basic buying and consumption unit in society.
Two types of Households:
o Family Household
o Non-family Household
2. Main Functions of a Family:
Socialization of members
o Consumer socialization refers to the way that consumers develop their abilities, approaches and
understanding when they are in the marketplace. Through consumer socialization, people gain
knowledge about products, services and markets and this knowledge is useful during their decision-
making process.
o Family members become socialized as consumers by means of direct consumer socialization and
indirect consumer socialization
Direct Socialization: involves purposive teaching or sharing of information with the aim f
passing on knowledge.
Indirect Socialization: occurs within a family, with children observing
adults, who acts as role models. Children learn a lot about consumer-
related activities through their parents and may start to imitate them.
Economic well-being members
o Families provide for economic well-being of members through the sharing of their resources.
o While parents provide for their children economically until they are old enough to become
financially independent, there is often a reversal of roles later on in life.
o African family, adult children are expected to take responsibility of providing for their parents and
other relatives.
o Traditionally, the husband is the main economic provider for the family. However due to factors such
as HIV, children grow up with their grandparents and often have limited income.
o Women joining the workforce results in women contributing more financially- pooling incomes
improves the purchasing power of the family.
Emotional support of members
o Emotional support of the primary functions of the family
o Providing support includes:
Respecting other members’ feeling and choices
Buying gifts for each other
Verbal expression of love
Sticking together during difficult times
, 3. Changes in Family and Household Structure
The average size of families and households
o Lower fertility rates: Birth rates are declining. One of the reasons is that readily available birth
control has made it easier for women to control the number of children they have, with many of
them opting for fewer.
o Rapid urbanisation: Many people have been moving from rural areas to urban areas. This has meant,
for most African families, a break from the extended rural family unit into smaller, often nuclear,
family units
o Rising cost of living: Many people are having to priorities their obligations to their immediate
families rather than their extended families.
o Growth in divorce rates: High levels of divorce have resulted in a higher number of household units
of smaller sizes, as each partner gets a home of his or her own.
o Delayed marriages: Youth in urban areas often pursue further education to improve their
employment opportunities and want a good start in their careers before getting married, which has
resulted in the growth of single-person households.
The small the households means that packages are smaller, single parents meaning that more parents have
obligations to work and to their children.
The Headship of the Family of Household
o Headship has changed from man to woman, due to illness, and divorce.
Age of family members
o Elder family members have priority and special demands, adults will choice their parents over
starting a family. – people live longer
o People are dying younger due to AIDS
Growth of ethnic diversity of families and household
o Increased migration of people owing to improvements in transportation services and the general
impact of globalisation have resulted in a growth in multi-cultural communities in most urban areas
around the world.
o People of different ethnic backgrounds and from different parts of the country, the continent and
beyond are increasingly living within the same neighbourhoods and sometimes intermarrying - This
has wide implications on the demand for products, as each ethnic group tends to have unique
consumption pattern
Retail stores start selling Korean products as more Korean natives move into an area.
Change in social structure
o The traditional African family is extended in nature.
o The disintegration of the extended family structure over time due to such factors as adoption of
Western culture and movement of people to different places of work has reduced family members’
sense of connectedness.
o High levels of individualism are also having an impact, especially in urban areas. Studies have found
that many families in Western countries are becoming ‘roommate families’, where members
structure their time and activities independently of each other.
4. The family or household decision-making process
Researching family or household decision making
o The typical consumer decision-making process consists of 5 key stages
Problem recognition
Information search
Evaluation of Alternatives
Purchase Stage
Post-purchase stage
o The main areas of differences
Different family members are directly or indirectly involved
Amount of influence on similar products differs involvement of family members at different
stages
Opinion leaders
consideration of different attributes by family members
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller alyshagurnell. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R60,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
