TRAIT THEORY IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOR

Sunny Shrestha 10134, MBA V KUSOM

TRAITS AND TRAIT THEORY

Traits

Set of unique identifiable characteristics within an individual that define individuals (Solomon, 2007) Are hypothetical constructs that relate to certain persistent qualities in human behavior (Kassarjian, 1971)
Attempts to explain (and let marketers exploit) the buying behavior of consumers in relation to their own traits Suggests that if in any ways consumers are able to relate to any products with their own personal traits then the consumers become inclined to consume that product

Trait Theory

THESIS STATEMENT
The

paper intends to

Explore how the marketers have been able to integrate the concepts of personality traits into their marketing schemes
Investigate the critics that trait theory has had to face

PERSONALITY TRAITS AS A MARKETING TOOL

Traits

can be used to

segment the market target the costumers position their products accordingly

Can

be used as a differentiating factor in the standardised market

VALIDITY OF TRAIT THEORY

Considerable questioning and criticism have been directed at the use of personality instruments developed by psychometricians in the study of consumer behaviour (Kassarjian, 1971)

Unfortunately the use of standard personality trait measurements to predict consumer buying behaviour has met with mixed success and has also been abandoned by a large group of marketing researchers (Solomon, 2007).

THE REASONS FOR ABANDONMENT

An individual is not just composed of a single personality trait

it was assumed that an individual has a stable set of personality traits and therefore should behave similarly across contexts (Sirgy, 1982)

The use of the devised instruments either in totality or in sections and modified versions

Influence of the conditions under which the test instrument is given

CONCLUSION

Personality traits represent only a 10 per cent variation in brand usage and the rest 90 per cent is credited to other conditions (Dholakia, 1978) Marketers thus need to integrate their trait knowledge with the consumers economic, social, and cultural status so that the information becomes more useful (Punj & Stewart, 1982)

There is a need of products which are congruent to the consumers traits, are well accepted in the society, are affordable, and fit into the local culture

The variables that lead to the assassination of a president, confinement in a mental hospital, or suicide may not be identical to those that lead to the purchase of a washing machine, a pair of shoes, or a chewing gum. - Kassarjian

Thank You!!!