A capitalist economy Essay Example for Free

A capitalist economy Essay A capitalist economy is fuelled by the needs and whims the consumer. Hence, understanding the customer’s buying behavior and needs is critical for a marketer to succeed in such an environment. Once a person’s basic survival needs such as food and shelter are satisfied, buying needs are influenced by the need for self-esteem. Consumers buy things to boost their sense of pride and society plays a crucial role in influencing this behavior, through media outlets such television and Internet. They not only inform consumers about a product but also psychologically tell them why they should purchase it, by affecting them on a subconscious level. Peer opinions and brand consciousness also impact consumer behavior since it influences their status among peers. Buyers approach a new purchase and repurchase quite differently. If they are satisfied with the previous purchase, almost no research goes into the repurchase. When it comes to a new purchase, a consumer’s buying behavior depends upon the amount of involvement in researching the product, before actually buying it. For instance, a car or house involves a lot of money, which is why a consumer naturally spends more time trying to learn about the various options available in the market. See more: My Writing Process Essay On the other hand, buying everyday products like soap, perfume and clothing involves lesser consumer research and requires lesser decision time. However, sometimes consumers also buy things on a whim without any prior research; it involves a miniscule decision time and is called impulsive buying. An individual buyer’s personality will also affect their buying behavior. For instance, a person who was raised in a poor family and having a conservative spending attitude would spend more time researching an item before buying it. The probability of such a person making an impulse buy or brand-conscious decision is also very less, since people with such a personality tend to make rational decisions based on their needs. Buying a common food item such as salad dressing involves very little decision time, since the product would be a repurchase for most people and the financial risk involved is very less. However, health-conscious buyers may spend additional time researching nutritional information before buying a specific brand. There are also quite a few varieties of salad dressing available in the market to choose from, which may increase the research time of buyers who have a fine appreciate for food. Three brands of salad dressing that would considered are as follows, 1) Wild Thymes 2) American Garden 3) Briannas Fine Salad Dressing Wild Thymes is basically a Gourmet Foods company that caters to people who have an appreciation for fine food. It offers an exclusive variety of salad dressings that come in various fruit flavors, which are not offered by mass market brands. Their products are also 100 percent natural, catering to health-conscious buyers. They are sold online on Amazon. com as well as in other retail outlets. The cost of a Wild Thymes salad dressing is priced at $6. 50 for a 11 oz bottle. Briannas Fine Salad Dressings is a specialty salad dressing company that exclusively focuses on salad dressing. It offers an exhaustive list of salad dressing variants such as Asiago Caesar, Blush Wine Vinaigrette and Zesty French. Its products are sold through its own online store it costs $6. 3 for two bottles of salad dressing, which is comparatively cheaper. This brand caters to professional chefs and cooking enthusiasts. American Garden is Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand that caters to the mass market. It offers Russian, creamy Ranch and Thousand Island salad dressings and is reasonably priced. It caters to mainly to families with children, as the website is filled with pictures of children and also offers various kids’ recipes. It primarily appeals to low-income and middle-income families owing to its price and widespread availability in retail stores.