Consumer behavior theory
The traditional approach to the question of how consumers consume, was to approach the properties of the consumption object structured consumption. Different groups of consumers may consume any specified consumption object in a multitude of ways. The purpose of consumer research is to expansively document the diverse ways in which individuals consume with the aim of developing a deeper understanding of their behavior and to illustrate unknown factors that configure how various groups consume and the unforeseen results of their actions. “Consumption practices” (Bourdieu 1977; Garfinkel 1967; Giddens 1979) are fundamental conceptual elements utilized to explain consumer’s actions. The aim of the exercise is to establish an analytic language i.e. an encyclopedia of consumer behavior which can accurately and informatively interpret the assortment of ways individuals relate to consumption objects.
Collaboration of the literature on the subject has led to the emergence of a number of distinctive metaphors for consuming, such as consuming as experience, consuming as integration, consuming as classification and consuming as play. Each of these perspectives relates to an intrinsic dimension of consumption. However owing to our study being on the consumption of shampoos and conditioners, not all dimensions may appear relevant.
The consumption as an experience metaphor governs research investigating consumer’s emotional and subjective responses to consumption objects. The experiential, hedonic, autotelic, aesthetic, and subjective perspectives of consuming were researched by Holbrook and Hirschman (1982). Their influence extends to the studies conducted by notable researches such as Belk, Wallendorf and Sherry (1989) and Celsi, Rose and Leig ...