Marketers and economists have complex words like buying patterns and consumer behaviour .They study when we buy , how much we buy and at what times we buy and in essence use that information to influence what we buy and how much we spend. When we go shopping they are different situations we are faced with the weekly shopping of grocery items or the more complex process of buying furniture or a house or a car. Marketers use things like the music played in a mall or shop to influence how long we stay or the scents pumped through the air vents in shops. Have you ever walked into a shop and lingered there because of the soft relaxing music played there or been rushed into buying a chocolate you didn’t want because they are near the till through impulse buying ?! Its critical to put thought into what we buy and consider the following
Amount spent
This answers the question of how much do I have and how much should I spend? The needs of people are unlimited and the resources are limited. In order to balance between a constrained income and unlimited needs one then needs to prioritise. Just because you have money it does not mean that you should spend it all. At most times, once you co receive some money the problem is not how much they have to spend but how much they should spend. The amount one has determines how one will behave. The amount one has determines the brand that one will buy. He / she should not go for a high priced brand that will cause them to spend more on one product when they still have plenty more things to buy. An example is that of prices of rice. You find that a certain brand can be slightly expensive than others. Why not go for the affordable brand with the good quality not the most expensive one on the shelf.
Frequency
This is on how many times the product will be bought before the coming of the next profit or income. Buying in bulk is cheaper always. Ones buying pattern should cut cost for them. For example buying eggs in singles may cost you more than buying the whole dozen. As a consumer know what you can buy in bulk and what you can frequently buy. This applies in business as well. Every firm is consumer and this concept of knowing how much of a certain product to buy at a time will help in cutting cost.
Timing
Timing is important on seasonal products. As an individual / entrepreneur you may need to save as much as you can. Some products are cheaper in certain seasons and they then become expensive in the next season. A good example is that of Winter clothes they are cheap in summer and once it’s winter they will be expensive. It is therefore imperative that one takes not of such opportunities in their business or life so that they can have a balanced buying pattern.
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